The Quistis Effect
by Getemono
Summary: “Oh yeah, then what is it? I’d love to hear it, what else would S stand for?” Read and Review, Please.
1. Prologue

-1Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VIII.

Prologue

It was a bleak morning at the orphanage. Quistis was standing on the shore, her bare feet submerged in the icy, gently rolling waves. The cold salty breeze left her pale face numb and her blonde hair streaming in strands behind her.

Squall had once again chosen to remain alone instead of in her company. She just didn't get it. The past few days, she had been just as sweet, caring, and understanding as Sis. So why, _why_ was Squall so distant?

"Hey!" Quistis turned to see a blonde boy with eager green eyes kicking up sand in his haste to reach her. His stride was awkward; the wooden sword he held left him slightly off-balance.

"What?" Quistis called back. Try as she might, she just couldn't keep up her warm façade when Seifer was around.

He came to an ungraceful stop, splashing her as he did so. "I beat up stupid Squall for you." He huffed proudly, lifting his weapon as an implication. He grinned as though his actions had been honorable. Quistis glared at him.

"Why'd you do that? Why can't you leave him alone?" She snapped. Seifer's smile faded.

"He was being mean to you, he's not nice." Seifer grumbled. Quistis' glare deepened before she turned to face the gray, cloudy sky.

"You're a jerk." She muttered. She couldn't see it, but Seifer's face fell.

"I just wanted to protect you." He said softly. "I'll always be your knight."

**A/N: I know, it's really short, but bear with me, it's just the prologue. Please let me know if you find this interesting by hitting the review button.**


	2. Rollercoaster

-1Chapter One: Rollercoaster

"Yeah, I caught one!" Raijin announced, proudly holding up his fish. Seifer slammed down his pole, aggravated that he hadn't gotten so much as a nibble. Fujin, ever faithful, kicked Raijin from the pier to bring down his morale. Seifer threw back his head and laughed.

"That wasn't cool, ya know!" Raijin hollered from the water.

"Serves you right for showing off!" Seifer retorted, still laughing. A shadow passed over, and he looked up to see Balamb Garden floating serenely overhead. He stopped laughing to watch it pass.

_So they made it._ He thought, and he really was happy for them, even Puberty boy. He thought he had seen long strands of blonde hair blowing from high above, but then again, it could have been anything. Although he couldn't help but notice they were the exact shade of blonde as his first sorceress, or had he called her princess back then? He couldn't remember. He remembered her cold blue eyes; those penetrating eyes that were so cold not even Rinoa's warm smile could dull the pain. He imagined them happy in victory, and smiled to himself as he watched Garden disappear.

"So she's okay." He murmured.

"Who, Rinoa?" Raijin asked as he pulled himself back up.

"None of your business." Seifer answered before kicking Raijin back into the water.

--

"Ah man, it's dying!" Selphie whined as the icon for low battery flashed on the corner of the screen.

"C'mon, maybe we can get something if we run--aw." Irvine said as the video camera shut off.

"Well, that's why you always have back-up!" Selphie grinned, pulling out a disposable camera. They both sniggered before sneaking to the balcony.

Quistis shook her head, giggling to herself. She turned to talk to Zell, only to find he was gone, and when she searched the room she found that he was long gone, reunited with his crush. She thought about talking with Cid and Edea again, but they were engaged in a conversation with a SeeD.

For the first time throughout her journey to battle Ultimecia, she realized how alone she was. Well, she'd have to be stupid to not see the romances forming, but she just hadn't realized that she was being left so far behind. But now that the battle was over, everyone could fully indulge, and the reality of it all hit her hard. She kept up a false smile as she made her way out of the room; she didn't want to ruin anyone's good time.

"Quistis, where'ya going?" Zell called out.

"I'm tired." She lied, a weary smile forming on her face. "Not all of us can battle sorceresses then party all night."

The moment she stepped out of the room she allowed the smile to slide off of her face. It felt good to not have to pretend anymore, to be able to sulk in her loneliness.

Squall and Rinoa. Irvine and Selphie. Zell and his Library girl. Quistis and no one. Odd that it seemed to fit. She gave a hollow sigh as she roamed the quiet halls, making her way to her room.

It just didn't seem fair. Everyone else's romance seemed to fall into place, like a perfect ending to a Fairy tale. Was Quistis really such an outcast that she somehow didn't qualify for the happy ending that everyone else got? Hadn't she played just as big a role, worked just as hard? She entered her room dejectedly.

For one angry second she found herself wishing that one of them, just _one_ of them had been rejected or alone, but the second passed, and she was ashamed of herself. She faced herself in the mirror.

"You've gotten pathetic." she told herself. Her eyes flashed a dull gold color, and she backed away from the mirror. When she blinked, they were blue again.

"And now you're going crazy." She sighed, pulling her hair out of it's usual knot. She decided, as she got ready for bed, that she would not brood on her isolation like some sad, lonely girl. She'd pretend to not be bothered by all of the undoubtedly approaching hand-holding and pecking, and she'd give her friends their space. And she'd be genuinely happy for them.

"That's going to take some work." she had to admit to herself before going to sleep.

The next morning she allowed herself to sleep in. She awoke and got dressed at her leisure; she had no reason to rush anymore.

She had been wise in sleeping in; she could tell she had missed most of the unbearable morning sweetness when she took her usual seat.

"What are you in such a rush for?" Rinoa was asking Squall.

"Going to the training center." He answered, taking a bite of French toast.

"Oh come on." Irvine said. "We just beat Ultimecia and you already want to go back to training? Shouldn't you be working on getting a life?" Zell sniggered.

"Shut up." Squall responded shortly, and the table laughed. He turned to Zell. "And what, are you going to be doing all of your training at the library now?" The fighter flushed several shades of crimson before replying.

"No." He said defensively. "And that was uncalled for."

Quistis smiled, glad that things hadn't really changed, except for the number of hands resting on other people's thighs. She was just biting into her apple when Selphie and Irvine stood up.

"Well, we're off. Got lots of planning to do for the next concert!" Selphie announced, and Irvine put on a face of mock despair. She elbowed him.

"Right." He said, rubbing his arm. "See ya later."

Shortly after that, Zell left to escort his girlfriend to the library, and Squall and Rinoa stood.

"Do you want to come with us?" Rinoa asked Quistis as Squall went to dump his tray.

"No, thanks. I have to go see Cid." The last thing she wanted was Rinoa's charity.

"See you later, then." She waved before following Squall. Quistis continued eating her breakfast slowly; she'd have to find a hobby that didn't involve the training center, the library or the Quad. She decided she'd treat herself to a visit to the town.

She was walking towards the front gates when a familiar voice halted her.

"Good morning, Instructor." She turned and automatically narrowed her eyes at Seifer, who was walking towards her.

"What are you doing here?" Quistis would never admit that she was glad to see him.

"Hello to you too." He said, rolling his eyes. "Cid wanted to see me."

"Where's your posse?" She asked, noticing that Fujin and Raijin were nowhere to be seen.

"Lazy bums are sleeping in." He answered. "You wanna join me?" He didn't know why he kept doing it to himself; why he kept his hopes for Quistis so high up.

"Why not?" She answered to his surprise, and she fell into step beside him. There was an awkward silence as they walked.

"So, what?" He asked her.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"No questions? You're not mad that I'm daring to show my face back here? You're not wondering why Cid wants to see me in the first place?" He asked the questions nonchalantly, but Quistis could see that he was awaiting judgment.

"Please, you were never bad, just naïve." Quistis said just as airily, and she felt him relax. "And I assumed Cid realized we have a shortage of janitors."

"Funny." Seifer said sarcastically.

Quistis didn't know why, but she was really happy to be walking with Seifer. There was an unknown, or perhaps forgotten energy between them, and it lifted her spirits to be with him. She was actually disappointed when they reached Cid's office.

"Don't wait up." He said with a smile as he made his way to the door. Quistis rolled her eyes before turning to leave.

"Hey."

"What?" She asked, heart hammering as she glanced back at him.

"You wanna hang out sometime? I'm guessing all of your friends hate you or something since you're by yourself." His hand was hovering above the door, poised to knock.

"Just because you can't stand a day without your friends doesn't mean everyone's so dependant." She sassed. "But I suppose I could give Fujin and Raijin a break every now and then." Quistis wondered if he had felt the same energy that she had or if he was just playing around, or worse, if even he was pitying her.

"All right then, I'll see you around." Seifer concluded before finally knocking on the door. Quistis left, feeling both down that he was gone and happy that she'd see him soon enough.

She paused as she walked down the hallway, a distant memory trying to resurface from the back of her mind.

"_Oh come on, Quistis, you know you want me." A much younger Seifer, maybe about thirteen or fourteen, stated._

_"Sorry, stupid isn't my type." She replied uncaringly, sidestepping him. She ignored that certain charm that only Seifer possessed, forcing herself to remain loyal to her crush. "Why don't you leave Squall alone? You're always picking fights with him and getting him into trouble."_

_"Why is it always about Squall with you?" Seifer demanded, obviously irritated. "It's not like he cares about you, so why are you always defending him like he deserves it or something--"_

_"Shut up, Seifer, you don't know anything!" She fumed. "Get a life!" She stomped off, leaving Seifer alone in the hallway._

Quistis clutched her head; the sudden memory had caused her a headache. She looked around to see that she was in the exact hallway that the scene had occurred in. Disoriented by the long lost moment, she unsteadily made her way to her room.

"That was strange." She mumbled, sitting on her bed. She took down her journal (a present from Selphie) to log it down; those sorts of memories usually escaped her. For some reason, as she was putting her journal away, a strange sentence sounded in her mind.

_Reclaim your Knight._

**A/N: I hope this chapter turned out okay, it was very tricky for me to write. I know, the chapter title isn't the best, but I wanted to describe Quistis' constantly changing emotions; up and down, twisted, left and right, kind of like a rollercoaster. Sorry for not updating sooner, my internet was down for a while. If you find yourself without anything to read, please check out my other FFVIII stories; they're all dark (or meant to be, anyways), and all completed. Thank you for reading, please Review.**


	3. Obsession

-1Chapter Two: Obsession

_That was weird._ Quistis thought. She had sat frozen for a few hours, hand still clutching the journal she meant to put away. Her thoughts alternated between the absurdity of the statement, Seifer, and whether or not she should log it down. In the end, she decided against it; she didn't want to remember random moments of insanity. Her stomach growled, and she hastily shelved her journal back in its proper place before going to lunch.

"Where's Squall and Rinoa?" She asked, sitting next to Selphie with her tray.

"Rinoa had one of her appointments with Odine." Irvine explained.

_So that's why he was so anxious to train this morning._ Quistis took a bite of her sandwich. Those appointments were basically set up to make sure that Rinoa's sorceress powers were under control, but if they thought she was getting too strong, there was no telling what would happen to her.

"She'll be fine." Zell assured his friends between shoving hotdogs into his mouth. "Ultimecia's dead, so Rinoa's not going to go all possessed and try to destroy the world. End of story." He continued to shovel hotdogs into his mouth as if to establish closure.

"So, how was your appointment?" Selphie asked, leaning towards Quistis.

"What?"

"Cid…?" Selphie motioned for Quistis to pick up from there.

"Oh, he was busy." That was a half truth, anyways.

"So you spent the day alone!?" Selphie cried in awe. Quistis could see that it had been one of Selphie's goals to make sure she was included. Feeling both irritated and touched, she rolled her eyes.

"Selphie, it's not going to kill me to be alone for a few hours. What do you think I was doing when you guys went to Timber without me?" Quistis told her.

"Sulking." Zell piped up, but immediately shut his mouth at the look Quistis gave him.

"You're the one to talk." Irvine teased him. "How long do you have to wait now before your little Library Girl gets off duty?"

"_Amy_ gets off in an hour." Zell retorted.

"Counting down the seconds?" Irvine mocked.

"Irvy, stop it." Selphie whacked him across the chest. There was a few minutes of silence as everyone ate, until Quistis spoke up.

"When will they get back?"

"Hm, they couldn't take the Ragnarok, so they're coming home tomorrow." Zell answered before glancing at his watch. Irvine smirked.

This time, Quistis finished first, telling her friends she had some errands to run in town. They readily let her go alone, as Selphie and Irvine were still working on the Garden Festival Committee, and Zell was going to loiter around the Library.

She was almost hoping that she'd run into Seifer at the front gates again, but that would be just too good, she sighed, starting her lonely journey to Balamb.

_Where should I go?_ She asked herself when she entered the town. She didn't really need anything, and Balamb was not known for its wide selection of clothing. Maybe she should have gone to Esthar with Squall and Rinoa, at least they could have dropped her off outside of the shopping center on the way there. She thought about going to Ma Dincht's house to gossip when she heard familiar voices around the corner.

"CID?" a rough but distinctly female voice asked.

"He's trying, but they're not making it easy for him." Seifer's voice answered. Quistis knew there was a bench right around the turn, and she guessed that Seifer and his posse were stationed there. She didn't want to eavesdrop, but curiosity got the better of her, and she remained where she was.

"Whaddya mean?" Raijin pressed for details. Seifer let out a slow breath.

"A lot of people want our asses dead." He told them. "Some people know that I was being controlled, kinda like Rinoa, but they're saying that you two weren't."

"But we turned ourselves in to the President of Esthar, ya know?" Raijin said.

"I know, which is why you guys are safe, for the most part."

"POINT." Fujin ordered.

"The point is," Seifer said in a slightly frustrated voice. "They think I wasn't mind controlled."

"But that's stupid!" Raijin protested.

"They don't care, no, just listen." He cut off their opinions. "They don't know what it's like to be controlled, they wouldn't know…" It was quiet for a few moments, until Seifer continued. "You're not you when she controls you. You catch small pieces of what's going on, but basically you feel your dream coming true, and that feeling spurs you through everything.

"Anyways, I didn't know the whole situation, but I knew that me being a Knight was no longer possible; I could feel the accomplishment fading. So I went for the next best thing; stealing Puberty Boy's spotlight as the Hero. I blurted out something about wanting the glory."

"So they think that you were just trying to play double agent but failed, what's so bad about that?" Raijin asked.

"It's not that." Seifer answered, his voice impatient again. "It's that when I failed, I released Rinoa to Adel. They're saying that I was perfectly aware of what I was doing when I did that." He finished, and Quistis had to remind herself to breathe.

"How did they hear about all of that anyways, ya know?" Raijin wondered. Seifer gave a sarcastic snort.

"Let's not be stupid, Raijin. If Commander Puberty Boy was being questioned about my behavior, do you think he'd lie to them? Besides, we hate each other, why would he stick up for me?" The silence was broken by the sound of a slap.

"STUPID!" Quistis heard Fujin yell with something other than fury for once.

"Fujin!" She heard Raijin undoubtedly try to restrain her.

"Oh, and what would you have done!?" Seifer demanded. "You don't know anything about being controlled, so don't you go judging me." Quistis began to get nervous when she heard sounds of his departure, but he had gone the other way. She risked a peek around the corner.

Raijin was still holding on to the small woman, but it was more for comfort than restraint. Her jaw was clenched and her eye looked deadly, but she still looked sad, not angry. Quistis quickly ducked back against the wall.

"Stupid." Fujin repeated quietly.

"Yeah, I know. I'm worried about him too, ya know." Raijin said. "It's not a very good situation for him." There was a pause, and Quistis guessed that Fujin had communicated non-verbally. "Yeah, I hear what you're saying. It's like he's desperate to get to Garden, nowadays."

"RINOA?" Fujin asked.

"I hope not. I hope Ultimecia didn't scramble his brain or anything." Raijin responded. "I just hope he misses home."

"MEETING. US."

"Yeah, he should have told us about the meeting with Cid, we would have woken up to go with him. But, come on, let's have a little faith in him." That seemed to end their conversation, and Quistis quietly scrambled away before they could see her.

Seifer was going crazy. The thought numbed everything else around her as she walked along the quiet streets. But he had seemed so normal, and he hadn't even brought up Rinoa once. Maybe he did just miss Garden after all of his hardships.

Her meandering soon brought her to Balamb's pier, and she sat at the edge, watching the sun's reflection sparkle off of the sea.

And Squall had gone against Seifer. That fact burned angrily through her body, for some reason, and she both embraced it and loathed it. Why should she feel so protective over Seifer? How could Squall be so cold? Seifer hadn't caused any real damage, and he was deluded. Why couldn't they leave him alone?

She threw a pebble into the water, disrupting the calm tide for a few seconds. She watched the pebble sink until it was lost from sight, just trying to empty her mind. She tossed another pebble in. When she ran out of pebbles, she leaned over the edge, staring straight into the water. The small waves distorted her face, but it shouldn't have done it to such extremes. Her skin was much paler, her lips purple. She looked away from the reflection, choosing to gaze into the horizon instead.

_Well, if Seifer is crazy, at least he's not alone._ The bizarre thought made her grin, for some reason, and the thought of both of them being crazy opened up exciting new possibilities in her mind. Anything would be possible; they could go wherever they pleased, travel as self employed mercenaries, even destroy the world if they felt like it.

The grin dropped into a frown instantly. There was something wrong with her.

She knew, looking out at the clear blue sky, that the smart thing to do would be to stay away from Seifer. If what she had heard was the truth, then he was dangerous. Not to mention she hadn't been feeling like herself lately. They were not good for each other.

But she also knew that she could not resist him, and that he was a vital part of her, somehow. They would be together, and together they would answer that dark call of destiny that pulled both of them closer with each passing breath.

**A/N: Whoa, I did not intend for this story to take such a crazy turn when I was plotting it out, but I guess writing will take on a life of it's own, and who am I to try to change it? Oh well, at least it's still following my outline. Next chapter should be interesting (unless my writing decides otherwise) in the meantime, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, however choppy it might have come out. Review, please.**


	4. Wings

-1**A/N: Sorry for taking so long to update, suffering from some massive writer's block.**

Chapter Three: Wings

Quistis had spent the night in Balamb hotel. She was too distraught to face her friends, and Ultimecia's face was constantly swimming beneath her eyelids.

_It must be stress, or something like that._ She thought to herself as she walked towards Balamb Garden. _Or maybe,_ she thought with a wry smile, _I even miss the threat Ultimecia posed_. She spent the rest of her journey in a quiet daze, and too soon, she reached the front gates. She inwardly groaned when she noted that she was just in time for lunch.

_And Squall will be back._ She remembered with antipathy. She didn't want to see him, the traitor. But she knew her friends would be worried, and if she didn't go to them they'd go to her. She sighed before walking to the cafeteria.

_Just act normal._ She instructed herself. _You're not guilty of anything._ "Hey." She greeted as she sat next to Selphie.

"We missed you." Selphie said.

"What can I say, I needed a day off." Quistis shrugged.

"From what?" Zell asked. "It's not like you do…" He stopped before he could get himself into any more trouble.

"Everyone needs a break from you." Squall said as he and Rinoa sat in their usual seats. Quistis couldn't help the cold, venomous glare that she gave to Squall. The Commander caught the glare, and gave her a curious, somewhat suspicious glance.

"So, how'd your meeting go?" Irvine asked Rinoa, and Squall tore his gaze from Quistis.

"Boring." She blurted. "Just the usual examination and some useless questions."

"Like what?" Zell asked.

"Like, 'Have you been hearing or seeing any of Ultimecia?' 'Are you having any lapse of judgment?'" She rolled her eyes. "I've been possessed before, I know what to look out for."

"It's for your safety." Squall muttered before taking a bite of steak.

"Come on, Squall, if Rinoa was in danger, that crazy old circus freak would be the last one to save her." Zell made a cruel impression of Odine. "We must dissect her!" He announced, raising his hands and advancing towards Rinoa.

"Shut up, Zell!" Rinoa giggled.

_**Their laughter, it irritates me.**_Quistis dropped her fork at the sound of Ultimecia's voice.

"Quisty, you okay?" Selphie asked. Irvine looked in her direction.

"Y-yeah, I just need to…to lay down for a bit." She grabbed her full tray and stood. Squall gave her another suspicious glance, his way of saying he knew something was wrong, and he was going to find out sooner or later. But right now she didn't care, she just needed to get away from them.

_What the hell is going on?_ Quistis thought. She half expected an answer, but Ultimecia's voice didn't respond. She thought about what Rinoa had said as she made her way to her room. She couldn't be possessed. She couldn't.

"I haven't done anything crazy." She reasoned after closing the door to her room. "And Ultimecia wouldn't take her sweet time…yeah." Her vision was spinning, everything was doubling and floating in and out of focus. She lost her balance and slumped against her wall, clutching her head as a shrill ringing sound filled the room.

"Ellone?" She groaned. Why would she put her through a memory now? The ringing became unbearable, and she fell to the carpeted floor.

She was eight, back at the orphanage. They were all sulking because Sis had been adopted. They all sat quietly at the old round table, listening to the sound of the pounding rain outside. Matron walked in.

"Oh, cheer up." She told them. "You should be happy; Ellone has a family now."

"We were her family." Seifer muttered. Matron sighed, and Quistis stared grumpily at the round bear cup in front of her.

_Why did Sis have to be adopted?_ She thought. _Why would any of us need to be adopted, they're just breaking us apart._ She glared at Matron's back, blaming her for allowing them to take Sis away.

The door slammed, and the orphans looked up to see Squall dragging his feet towards the room they shared. His head was hung, and he didn't look at anyone.

"Squall…" Matron called, but he kept walking.

"He's such a baby." Seifer grumbled.

"Shut up." Quistis shot.

"Quisty, don't say mean things." Matron scolded. "Don't worry, Squall will come around."

But Squall didn't come out of his bed for the rest of the night.

The next morning, Quistis woke up on her own and opened her eyes. Squall was already up, making his bed.

"Good morning, Squall." She greeted, stretching. He continued to make his bed in silence. When he was done he walked towards the door, but turned with his hand on the doorknob.

"I'm running away. Tell Matron I'm not coming back." That said he bolted out of the door before she could get a word out of her mouth. For a moment she sat there, dumbstruck before racing to Matron's room.

"Matron! Matron!" She screamed.

"What, what's wrong?" Matron emerged from her room.

"Squall ran away, and he said he's not coming back!" She cried.

"Stay here." Matron commanded before hurrying out of the door. Quistis waited until she thought Matron had gotten far enough, then ran out in the same direction.

Squall hadn't gotten very far. Matron was standing a few feet behind him, trying to coax him into coming back. Quistis knelt behind a ruined pillar.

"No!" Squall yelled, bolting in a direction to the right. Matron was about to chase after him, but a darkness ripped open, and Ultimecia staggered forward. A seventeen year old Squall was behind her, and he unsheathed his weapon as the Sorceress made her way to Matron.

"She's just trying to pass on her power." Matron explained gently. The older Squall hesitated, but allowed her to pass on her power. But Ultimecia's eye shifted to where Quistis was hiding. Quistis had never felt such a feeling of fear; she was frozen to the ground. Though Ultimecia's face remained a mask of pained defeat, her amber eyes reflected a deep satisfaction, a triumph. She made a show of giving her powers to Edea, but Quistis felt something hit her square in the chest. She lost her breath and fell over, doubled in pain.

She had lost consciousness for only a couple of minutes. When she woke up, Ultimecia was gone, and both young and older Squall were in Matron's company. She quietly got up and made her way back to the orphanage before anyone else could detect her presence.

Quistis tried to tip toe back into the room, but Seifer blocked her way.

"And where were you?" He asked.

"None of your business!" She pushed him, but he didn't stumble far enough for her to push past.

"That means you were doing something you weren't supposed to." He grinned. "You were spying again, weren't you?"

"Shut up, Seifer!" Quistis yelled. Her chest still hurt and she felt squeamish. "I wasn't doing anything!" Tears started pouring down her face, the hurt was so bad. "You're always so mean, just leave me alone!"

"Wait, why are you--?" she finally shoved past him before running to fall onto her bed.

She was sick all day. She couldn't even get up from the bed. Her sleeping patterns were irregular, and though she couldn't do anything but lay down, she was wide awake much past midnight. She kept her eyes closed, hoping she could sleep. She peeked at the sound of breathing close by. It was Seifer.

_Good, I'll finally catch him making trouble_. She was able to form thought through the pounding headache.

"I'm sorry." He whispered before patting her arm. He turned towards his bed, but Quistis grabbed his arm.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

Quistis didn't answer. She sent a shock of electricity up his arm, making his hair stand up on end.

"What are you--?" But a gust of wind filled the room, flames licking along the breeze and swirling in a tornado all around them. The rest of the sleeping orphans were oblivious, somehow not affected by the disaster around them.

"What are you doing!" Seifer yanked his hand away from her.

"I-I don't know! I can't stop it!" She grabbed onto his arm, desperately trying to drag him towards her. "Seifer, help!"

"Hold on, I'll get Matron!" Thunder boomed, and icicles shattered as they hit the floor.

"No, don't leave, Seifer, don't leave!" Quistis cried, but Seifer again ripped his arm out of her grasp. He ran towards the door, but the magic abruptly stopped. All was calm in the dark room, as if it had never happened. The children sat in silence.

"We'll wait until tomorrow." He told her. "Then we'll tell Matron."

"No!" Quistis gave a loud whisper. "What if she thinks I'm dangerous and sends me away? I can't, I don't wanna die!" She started hyperventilating. "I can't die, I can't!"

"Okay, okay." He reassured her. "I won't tell anyone." He put an arm around her shoulder. "It's gonna be okay…"

Quistis woke up and picked herself off of the floor. No, that couldn't be a memory, if it was a memory, then she had sorceress powers.

True, she excelled in magic ability, but she couldn't do magic like Rinoa. Besides, she hadn't done anything before, shown no signs of sorcery…

There was only one solution. She'd have to talk to Seifer. She glanced at the clock. It was only a little after seven, she could make it to Balamb in about twenty minutes, ten if she cast haste on herself. She stole from her room and hurriedly made her way to the front gates.

"Haste." she murmured when she set foot on the winding path. She ran with incredible speed towards the quiet Balamb town.

_Seifer lived near the back._ She recalled, slowing down as the magic's effect started to wear off. She recognized the small, out of the way house and approached.

"Just have to hope Fujin doesn't answer." She muttered before knocking. There was some movement on the other side, and Seifer opened the door.

It was amazing how just seeing Seifer's face automatically made her feel a little more calm. She took a deep breath.

"Can I talk to you?" She asked. He looked a little puzzled, but stepped aside.

"Privately?" She asked.

"Wouldn't have it any other way." He replied. "Let me grab my keys." He dashed inside and shoved the keys into his pocket before walking out and closing the door behind him.

"So, what's up?" He asked, looking into her eyes as they walked along the deserted back roads.

_This is no time to feel shy and infatuated!_ she scolded herself before looking up at Seifer. "I had a really bad dream." He raised an eyebrow. "Well, it was more like a memory. I thought it was, but I need your confirmation on something."

"Okay." They had turned a corner and reached a bench. They sat, and Quistis was reminded of how, just yesterday, she had eavesdropped from behind that corner. She hoped no one was doing the same to her. She forgot about that worry as Seifer put his arm around her shoulders.

"It was…about ten years ago." She swallowed, hoping he wouldn't think she was crazy. "I saw Ultimecia pass on her powers to Matron. I wasn't supposed to be there, no one knew that I was, but Ultimecia did something to me, and I think she gave me some of her ability, or something like that." He waited patiently for her to go on, not ridiculing her in any way.

"Do you remember, the day after Sis left, I had a fever." He nodded slowly, trying to detect any deception or ill-will in her. "Do you remember that when you apologized, there was, there was…"

"A bunch of stuff." He finished. "A tornado and fire and ice…and electricity."

"Yes." Quistis agreed, relieved. "You remembered after all that time?" He snorted.

"I didn't rely on G.F.s as much as you did. I remembered more."

"Why didn't you say anything, try to remind me?" she asked. He sighed, and the sliver of his face that she could make out in the moonlight looked both frustrated and repentant.

"You were scared, remember?" He told her. "I didn't want you to freak out again, and I assumed you were just pretending it never happened." He stared at the ground. "And I was pretty sure you hated me by the time we reached Garden."

She moved her hand onto his, and his head snapped in her direction. "I never hated you." She whispered just loud enough for him to hear. "I was just stubborn."

"Me, too." He gave a small smile. She leaned on him, and they stayed like that for a while, but then she remembered that there was more to her story. Reluctantly, she eased away from him.

"But it's been getting worse." She glanced at him. "You're going to think I'm crazy, but I've been hearing Ultimecia's voice." She continued before he could offer an opinion. "I see her in my mirror and every time I close my eyes. She's always there." She took a shuddering breath to keep herself from tearing.

"Did you feel a pain when she gave you the power?" He whispered. She nodded, wondering how he knew. "Your chest, right?" She nodded again. "I'm gonna show you something, don't freak out."

He stood, shaking off his trench coat. Though it was cold, he unzipped his shirt, revealing his well-defined, pale chest. Quistis was glad it was dark; she was blushing.

"Ultimecia…" He said it with such love, such respect and loyalty that Quistis was jealous. But then he cringed as the shape of bat wings burned onto the skin above his heart. She jumped, backing against the bench.

"Kinda like being branded." He joked as it slowly began to fade. "Back when she was alive, that was how I'd talk to her. There's nothing now." He zipped his shirt back up and replaced his trench coat. He sat beside her and looked at her. "C'mon, your turn." She paused, staring at him. "I'm not being perverted or anything, but we have to find out, right?"

"Right. We have to know if it is magic or if I'm going crazy." She said. She was sure that she was red enough for him to notice as she unzipped her top, just past her chest. She gasped as her flesh made contact with her skin.

"I might be able to do it for you." He told her, and she nodded. "I used to do it for some of the other minions." He explained. He grabbed hold of her arms and leaned in so his lips were by her ear. Her heart hammered wildly; it sounded so loud in the still night.

"Ultimecia…" His breath tickled against her ear, and she shuddered, almost wishing that was her name. The sensation was soon replaced with a horrid burning, but before she could cry out, it had stopped. Seifer and Quistis looked down to see the bat wings burning brightly over her heart.

They stood in shock for a long time, Quistis even forgetting to zip her shirt up. Seifer broke the silence.

"What do you want to do?" He finally asked.

_What do I want to do?_ she thought. She imagined being forced into a chamber, frozen forever to protect the greater good. She visibly cringed.

"I don't want to tell Odine, or anyone back at Garden." She told him, and he nodded in understanding. "But I don't know what else I can do."

"Look, don't worry about it, no, _listen_." She had begun to look down, but he forced her face in his direction. "I don't know what we can do either, but we'll figure something out. Meet me at the front of town tomorrow morning, okay?" She nodded, and he zipped her up before walking away.

"I'll see you tomorrow." she told him before turning away.

"Quistis, wait." she stopped, and in a second he had turned her around and his lips were crushing onto hers. Quistis had never been kissed before, and it felt alien but right, and she pulled him closer, returning the kiss. She finally broke away for air, and they were both panting, staring at each other.

"Tomorrow." She said breathlessly, and he nodded.

"Good night." They both turned and went their separate ways, and Quistis had to focus hard not to look back.

Her problems didn't seem as important; her mind was clouded with Seifer and their first kiss. As she walked back to Garden she remembered how she used to imagine kissing Squall, and she gave herself a small smile when she realized that Seifer had given her something better than she had ever imagined.

The walk back seemed to take less time than her sprint to the town, and she soon found herself entering the front gates

"Quistis."

Quistis turned around as Squall stepped out of the shadows.

**A/N: Haha, cliff hanger! Ahem, well, once again, the story is deciding how to write itself; I don't usually do romance, so sorry for the crappiness, lol (it's still the closest thing I've written to a lemon). Hope you enjoyed it, review even if you didn't.**


	5. Confrontations

Chapter Four: Confrontations

Quistis was surprised, so say the very least. Squall was not known for confrontations. In fact, he was known for avoiding them. Only the light above them bathed him in a faint yellow glow, giving his grave face sinister shadows.

"Squall." Quistis nodded to him, about to go to her room, but he spoke up.

"We need to talk, Quistis." He said, folding his arms over his chest. Quistis merely nodded again. She knew what he was going to bring up, but she would not aid him in articulating it. He took a deep breath, perhaps knowing that this was a tricky subject and that Quistis would make it that much more difficult.

"It's about Seifer." He said.

"I guessed that much." She replied coldly.

"Quistis, he's dangerous." Squall cut straight to the point. Now it was Quistis's turn to fold her arms over her chest, giving him a disbelieving and challenging look. "You shouldn't be spending so much time with him."

"How are you so sure? And how do you know I was with him at all?"

"Zell is visiting his mom in town." Squall answered. Quistis felt panic for a brief moment. How much had Zell seen? But Squall added "He saw you two walking around."

"So? That's none of your business." It felt good throwing his own catchphrase back at him.

"Quistis, would you just listen?" Squall asked, already frustrated. "Despite what you think, I saw him, right after the victory party." He paused, trying to find the right way to go on. The seconds passed with Squall staring past her, into some memory, and Quistis was tempted to leave, but he finally resumed. "He's crazy."

"Really?" Quistis asked with the casualty of asking the weather. Squall scowled at her.

"Yes, really. We were in Cid's office. Me, him, Cid and the President of Esthar."

_Your father._ Quistis thought acidly. _You're the only one of us who still has a parent, and you take that for granted. Just like Rinoa and her father…_

"He was trying to say that he had been given a brand of some sort." Squall went on. "That there was a means Ultimecia used to have control over him and communicate with him."

"And?" Quistis asked.

"There was nothing there." Squall told her. "_Nothing._"

But that couldn't have been. Quistis had seen the wings herself, she even had them! She thought about defending him, but remembered the consequences of girls with the powers of sorcery and decided against it.

"He's obsessed with her, Ultimecia." Squall told her.

"And he admitted to that?" Quistis asked sarcastically.

"He didn't need to, it was all over his face." Squall looked almost disgusted. "Talking about how he didn't mean all of what he did, apologizing, saying he was controlled, but whenever anyone mentioned her…you could see it all in his eyes."

"So you think he's a liar?"

"I know he's a liar." Squall said coldly. Quistis was about to argue, but Squall cut her off. "Quistis, use your head. Don't you remember what Seifer did? How he was going to burn down city after city in search of Ellone? How he pushed Rinoa right into Adel? He even went up against us, tried to _kill_ us, and for what? So he could have the glory of being a supposed Knight? He doesn't care about you, he's just using you to get back here."

Quistis was mad. She felt heat flush her face as she unfolded her arms, clenching her fists. "Oh, so you're the only Knight? How different was he from you?"

"What are you talking about? We're nothing alike." Squall shot.

"Please, you were just like him. You try to act like you played the role of 'reluctant leader,' that everything was always forced on you, but when it came down to it, you were just following orders, just like he was."

"I am not like him." Squall muttered angrily, but Quistis laughed.

"You know what, you're right. You were worse." Quistis began pacing in front of Squall. "At the least Seifer was sure of himself, you were always so flaky and easy to influence." Squall looked confused, so she decided to spell it out for him. "You didn't step up to be a leader, you only did it because Cid made you. If you could have gotten away with it, you would have been holed up in your room for the entire Sorceress War."

"Yeah? Well I wasn't so 'weak minded' that I crossed over to the bad side for some fantasy." Squall retorted, gray eyes locked on Quistis's face.

"Yeah, because you were never ordered to." Quistis spat. "Seifer took his chances, something you could never do."

"This is not about comparing me to Seifer, this is about you being in danger." Squall said through gritted teeth.

"No, don't change the subject!" Quistis yelled. "You need to hear this." Squall opened his mouth to protest, but she put up a hand to silence him. "You couldn't even decide if you loved Rinoa or not on your own! At the parade in Deling you weren't jumping in to save her from death, and why? All because your mission took priority! It was Irvine who had to make you go!" Squall was taken aback, and it showed clearly on his face.

"And then, when you two came back from space, so much in 'love,' you were just going to let her go and rot in space! If I hadn't said anything, she would have!"

"How did you know about the parade incident?" Squall asked, his brow creasing.

"Please, like Irvine didn't tell everyone." Quistis replied hotly. The truth was, Irvine hadn't. She herself didn't know how she knew. She had kept quiet too long, contemplating it, but not letting it show on her face, and Squall used that time to speak up.

"Don't you tell me I don't love Rinoa." Squall said in a dangerous tone.

"You don't! I'm sure that if we all convinced you that she was irritating, you'd dump her! You never made any conclusions about her on your own, and I bet when you finally are left alone with her, you'll see that you don't love her at all!" There was a long silence in the darkness, and Quistis even stopped pacing to stare at him. Squall was perfectly still, looking at her as though she'd just slapped him. But in a matter of moments a cruel smile took on his features when he opened his mouth.

"Like you're the one to lecture me about love." He said. "Out of all of us, you're the one who's spending the day alone."

That one struck her hard. It felt as though Squall had stabbed her with a poisonous blade in the chest that spread the hurt feeling throughout her body. The night seemed so much colder.

"And now you're just clinging to Seifer, because you think he's all you've got."

Squall said, and she could see no traces of concern for her in his eyes. Only a cold mockery.

"No, Squall, I go to Seifer because he understands me." Quistis's voice was just above a whisper. "And because you've just proven to me that he is all I have, because I certainly can't depend on you."

A shamed surprise crossed Squall's face, as though he couldn't believe he had sunk to such a level, but he recovered quickly. "Quistis--"

"Don't waste your breath, Squall." Quistis said, turning away from him. She broke into a sprint in the darkness. She glanced back over her shoulder to see Squall's figure alone in the spotlight.

She ran, so upset that she stumbled many times until she reached her room. She slammed her door close, and though she knew it was weak, she cried. Her chest heaved as thick tears rolled down her cheeks. She slid down against the door, wishing she wasn't crying over Squall's words but not bothering to try to stop. She pounded her fist against the floor in frustration. Why did his words bother her so much?

"I think you have more important things to be worrying about." A darkly familiar voice spoke up, and Quistis looked up, not seeing anyone. She sniffled-god, she hated how vulnerable she looked- and searched the room with her eyes, but still, saw no one.

"This way." Ultimecia's seductive voice purred, and Quistis stood, walking towards her bed. She wiped her eyes and looked, but still, nothing.

"Turn around." Ultimecia's voice was patient and welcoming, and Quistis did as she was told. There, standing in her full-length mirror, was Ultimecia staring back at her. Quistis sat at the edge of her bed, but Ultimecia remained standing.

"But…how?" Quistis asked.

"You saw for yourself." Ultimecia replied. "I put the last of myself into you."

"You mean you're a part of me?" Quistis asked with disbelief.

"Yes." Ultimecia answered. "Even now, as you can see, I am your reflection. You are me as much as I am you."

"What do you want?" Quistis demanded guardedly. Her reflection was the reason for all the misery she felt lately.

"Just to warn you." She said, and Quistis remained silent. "Seifer is in danger."

"From what?"

"Who else?" Ultimecia asked, rolling her amber eyes. "I'm sure if you had had a less hostile conversation with your leader, he would have told you."

"Told me what?" Quistis needed to know.

"That tomorrow, he and the others who helped to take me down are planning to arrest Seifer." She stopped there, letting her words take their effect on Quistis.

_No._ was the only word that echoed in Quistis's head.

"They'll take him to jail, where he'll await court and be found guilty in about two months." Ultimecia continued casually. "Then, he will be given the death sentence, right here in his home town."

"How can I trust you?" Quistis asked. "Just because Seifer was blinded by his love for you, doesn't mean you have the same trust from me."

"Seifer never loved me." Ultimecia told her in a mellow, soothing voice. "He only followed me because he could see you in me, and because I gave him sweet fantasies to indulge in. Almost all of them were about you."

_She's lying. She just knows what I want to hear._

"Or, you could choose not to listen to me." Ultimecia said in nonchalance. She sat on the reflection of Quistis's bed. "You could choose to stay here, in your nice, warm room, on this soft, comfortable bed." She made circles on the sheet with her hand. "And have a nice sleep. And when you wake up tomorrow, you can turn on the news and watch Seifer being dragged off by your comrades."

"Okay, okay, I get it." Quistis wasn't sure that she fully believed Ultimecia, but she wasn't going to take any chances. She grabbed a small bag and began shoving necessities- clothes, money, toiletries-into it. She turned around to ask Ultimecia if it was safe to go, but saw only her reflection staring back at her.

**Figure it out.** Ultimecia's voice rang in her head. The tone wasn't cold, it was more like a mother trying to teach her child independence.

_Well, I am a sorceress._ Quistis thought, sifting through her magic. She came to the scan spell, and she decided to experiment. She cast it on her harmless dresser and focused, focused hard on spreading the spell. Soon she could see the information on everything in her room, and she thought harder, letting her spell engulf more. It took about ten minutes, but she could finally see the entire school. She could see the cadets in their dorms, sleeping, watching TV, reading. She glimpsed Selphie in Irvine's room, it looked like they were talking. She wondered if it was about Seifer. Zell was absent, probably spent the night at his mother's house, but Rinoa was crying in her room.

_Probably crying over Seifer like she's the only one that ever cared about him._ She thought, and a sick part of Quistis thought that she didn't have the right to. Squall was back in his room, it looked like he was checking his junctions. Quistis hoped he wouldn't get a wink of sleep.

Knowing there was no one to stop her, she stole quietly through Garden, the place that was no longer her home, and made it to the front gates without any trouble. She thought about casting haste on herself, but that didn't seem fast enough. She decided to experiment again.

She cast haste on herself, then float. Willing both powers to merge, she glided effortlessly down the road to Balamb. The cold night air was refreshing, and everything around her was a lush green blur. In all her years of spell casting, she had never felt so magical. She made it to the town in about two minutes. Casting a quick scan to make sure that Zell and everyone else were indoors, she flew to Seifer's house. She could see that Fujin and Raijin were in their rooms, sleeping, but Seifer was awake on the living room couch. She knocked on the door.

End Chapter

**A/N: There you have it, another odd chapter. I felt bad making Squall say all those things, it sounded so MEAN! And I love Squall, so that was really hard…I sense there's only a couple of chapters left in this story, so review now.**


	6. Loyalty

Chapter Five: Loyalty

_Hm, I don't think we'd need G.F.s. Seifer's not the type to go down like that. Especially not outnumbered five to one._

Squall sat on his bed, face glowing from the laptop's screen. The usual pre-battle nerves along with flashbacks of his awful day were starting to get to him, so he focused on battle tactics. But he highly doubted he'd need them. Dragging Seifer to prison could hardly be called a mission. He wondered if it was shameful that Cid had ordered the "Sorceress Slayers" to arrest him or if it would have been more lowly to ask common SeeDs for reinforcement.

He closed the screen, unable to block out the feelings any more. It didn't matter that it may have been disgraceful to be leading a deranged man that had once been one of them to an almost certain death. Seifer was dangerous. He wasn't one of them. Not anymore.

Pushing that touchy subject to the back of his mind only pulled out an even touchier one. He sighed, leaning back against the wall. He hadn't meant to snap at Rinoa, didn't mean it when he told her to leave him alone. He just hadn't been feeling himself lately, hadn't been up to par between his Commander work, training, Rinoa's sorceress appointments and avoiding the talk with Laguna. Anyone would be stressed out in a situation like that.

Squall fidgeted again, shifting until he was laying on his bed, laptop shoved to the side. Then there was the disturbing subject of Quistis. The way her eyes seemed to flash when he said anything bad about Seifer, how he couldn't keep his cool when he was around her anymore. There was something different about her, something superior that demanded obedience. He didn't mean to call her pathetic. But then again he didn't mean to make Rinoa cry, either. He pounded his fists to his temples, rubbing hard circles. What _did_ he mean anymore, anyways? Nowadays he felt like only a miserable shadow of what he had once stood for. Was he only good for making girls upset?

He took his laptop and placed it gently on the floor before rolling back onto his side. It was late, and he had a big day ahead of him tomorrow. No more time to spare to Quistis, Rinoa or Seifer.

As he closed his eyes, he became more aware of the necklace around his neck. He heard the tiny chains clinking softly as they seemed to tighten, as if someone were trying to choke him with it. Strangely enough, he didn't care. He fell into its invitingly deadly hold. It dragged him into a long lost memory.

Squall was running wildly, not caring where he went so long as it wasn't the orphanage. He'd run away and he wouldn't stop until he found Sis.

He didn't run nearly as long as he should have; a patch of mud sent him flying into the air. He flopped on his stomach, tears starting to well up in his eyes from both the pain and missing Sis.

A cold wind blew, and the light seemed to drain away into the ground until Squall was left in a dim, still environment. He shivered, righting himself into a sitting position as a form seemed to come into being right before his eyes.

The creature was unknown to Squall. It was completely black, with a triangular nose and thin, shiny lips. Fur covered it from head to toe, thickening around its face to form a mane. It regarded him with piercing amber eyes.

Squall trembled. Something told him that this was power. This itself was the true meaning of power. He fell backwards, scooting on his palms and feet to attempt to get away. The creature seemed almost amused.

"A place to sleep." It said in a growl of a voice. It advanced towards him in slow, injured steps. His heart beats pulsed all around him as the thing extended a paw, lifting the small boy's face, forcing his mouth open.

He couldn't even scream when the burning spread throughout his body like a wild fire destroying a delicate tree. The blackness sloshed around in his mouth, forcing itself down his throat like a thick sludge. It settled around his heart, sticking to his ribs. He heard a light _clunk_ but he was too shaken to move. He sucked in the air from his wide open mouth, curling up into a ball on the mud.

Then the pain left as suddenly as it had come, and the color returned to the world around him. He sat up, wiping the last traces of tears from his eyes. The burning was gone, subsided into a mellow coldness. He didn't need Sis. He didn't need anyone.

Before he could get up, a bright gleaming caught his eye. He picked pulled up a thick chain with a Lion's head with an ornate cross in place of a neck. Squall slipped it over his head, under his shirt, knowing it was his.

Everything from his memory faded away, and Squall was floating in space. A fiery meteor sped past him, leaving Rinoa's face in its wake.

He opened his mouth to say something, though he didn't know what, but a comet streaked across the sky, and Ultimecia's angled features emerged from the stars. She looked at him as if she owned him, and Squall felt like he owed her everything. Rinoa spoke, reminding him that she was there.

"Squall, you'd protect me no matter what, right?" She asked. That was true, Squall loved her. He was going to tell her so, but Ultimecia intervened.

"Have you forgotten who's been with you from the start?" Ultimecia said coldly. For some reason he felt ashamed, like he'd let her down. He closed his mouth, confused.

"You're my Knight, you promised." Rinoa said in trembling tones.

"Yeah, I know--"

"You'd abandon me for this slut?" Ultimecia's voice was a deadly low.

"No, I mean, wait." It was all so confusing. Squall had known he loved Rinoa, but Ultimecia's hold on him was so strong. It all pounded in his head, pressing in on all sides, crushing his skull.

He cried out as a ripping sensation traveled down his back. He turned his head and saw wings of fire bursting from his back, each feather burning in the atmosphere.

"You said you'd stay with me!" Rinoa screamed in a pained outrage. Squall was in too much agony to respond. The pain never resided, and soon there was another pain in his chest, matching the intensity of the burning anguish in his back. He whipped his head downwards and saw bat-like wings grotesquely clawing through his shirt. They spread open wide above his heart, wings of shadow and hate.

"You belong to me!" Ultimecia yelled.

"Squall, you love me, _me_!" Rinoa sobbed. "And I love you, she'll never--"

It was hard to understand what they were saying through the unbearable pain. Squall struggled to maintain consciousness.

"Who are you loyal to?" Ultimecia roared. "Who will you stand for?"

"Make your choice, Squall." Rinoa told him, looking him squarely in the eyes. "Make the right choice."

The pain was ripping through his body, soon there'd be nothing left of him. Squall clenched his teeth, forcing himself to breathe.

"I…I love Rinoa." He was able to choke out. Rinoa smiled as Ultimecia shrieked in indignant fury. The scream subsided into the darkness as Squall fell into an uneasy sleep.

Across the town, Quistis had knocked on Seifer's door for the second time that night. She still didn't know exactly what she was going to tell him, how she could explain how she knew what she did, but she'd get him out of Balamb, some way or another. He answered the door, yawning.

"Quistis," He looked puzzled. "what's up?"

"Seifer, we have to leave." She said, feeling exposed on the doorstep. Every second spent in the small town made her feel more uneasy, like someone was going to catch them right then and there.

"Why, what's going on?" He looked just a little worried.

"Seifer, you're in danger." Quistis blurted out. "If we don't leave, you're going to be arrested tomorrow, then you're going to die."

"But, how-"

"Do you trust me?" She interrupted, looking up at him.

"Yeah, but I-"

"Do you think I'd lie about this?"

"No." His gaze seemed to soften. "No, you wouldn't." The seconds ticked by, and Quistis was getting impatient. They had to leave _now_.

"Come in." He said after a couple of more silent seconds. He turned, leaving the door open for Quistis to follow.

He plopped carelessly on the old, brown couch and motioned for Quistis to sit by him. She did, sadly taking in the faded wallpaper and lack of any other furniture. She wondered what it felt like, coming home to such an unwelcoming place.

"So, what do we have to do?" Seifer asked her.

"We have to leave. Tonight."

"So, what, we're catching a train or something?"

"No. They'd be able to track us."

"Can you get the spaceship?"

"I don't have the key." _Squall does_. She added bitterly. They sat in silence, Seifer seeming to accept his fate.

**His friend owns a boat.**Ultimecia told her. **Take the boat and sail to Trabia's continent. I'll instruct you from there.**

"We have to take Raijin's boat." Quistis said, and Seifer raised an eyebrow.

"How do you…" He shook his head, changing his mind. "That piece of junk won't get twenty feet from shore."

"Trust me on this, it will." Quistis said, and he must have seen the certainty in her eyes, because he sighed and stood.

"Fine. Let me just tell them--"

"You can't tell them anything." She told them. He looked ready to protest, but she spoke again. "If you tell them anything, they can be counted as accomplices." He looked almost mad for a second, but he realized she was right and nodded. "They'll understand." She said softly.

"I know." He replied. "Give me five minutes." He added before disappearing down the hall. Quistis sighed, a little more at ease but nonetheless nervous. What if the boat wouldn't get them to Trabia? What if it stopped in the middle of the ocean, or sunk? Or worse, what if it really didn't even leave Balamb? She could almost see Squall's professionally cool face that she'd grown to hate within the past hour. She sighed again. So much could go wrong…

"Okay." Seifer said, swinging a sack-like bag over his shoulder. "Let's go." Quistis nodded, grabbing her own bag and leading the way out of the small drab house.

They were quiet as they stalked through the sleeping town, but every breath sounded amplified in Quistis's ears. She kept glancing behind her, only to be met by a weak smile from Seifer each time. They were both aware that they were gambling everything. They knew they were leaving everything they'd ever known for good.

It was colder at the docks. Quistis shivered, thankful for the heavy cotton jacket she'd packed. She fell behind Seifer to retrieve it and let him lead her to Raijin's boat.

"Here it is." Seifer told her as she zipped up her jacket. Her mouth almost fell open. The bottom of the boat seemed to be the only thing intact, and every gently bobbing wave seemed to put the poor thing in jeopardy of sinking. The wood was starting to rot, and what Quistis could see of the cabin was pitiful. How were they to cross thousands of miles of ocean in that? It was hopeless.

"He meant to fix it up." Seifer supplied, shuffling his feet. He, too, knew this was the end of the line for him. "It's okay, Quistis."

But Quistis was still eyeing out the boat. There had to be a reason Ultimecia had told her to use it. They would be able to get to Trabia using the boat. It was time to experiment again.

She reached deep within her, feeling for the magic. A curaga would probably be most ideal for a wreck like that boat, and she summoned it forth, letting it hover at her fingertips. She focused further and could see every component that made up the magic. She removed the essence of the magic, setting it aside and discarding the rest of it.

She scanned the rest of her magic, trying to tell what would merge well with the Curaga. She came across an Esuna, which meshed almost perfectly. There was something surprisingly permanent about Zombie, and she carefully added that in. When she could feel the new magic burning in her hands, she faced the boat.

"Esaga." The word formed on her lips as she released the magic. She watched it shoot out from her, spiraling beautifully to surround the boat. She saw Seifer's eyes widen as it engulfed the boat completely, covering it in a blue glow. When the glow dissolved a small but grand boat replaced it.

Seifer looked about to ask her something, most likely how she'd fixed the boat, but she began swaying dangerously. He put his arms around her, steadying her.

"It'll last as long as we need it to." Quistis said, and he nodded.

"Let's just get you on the boat." He replied, walking her onto the luxurious boat. They walked into the room, and Seifer guided her onto the now Queen-sized bed.

"Just get some rest," He told her as he laid her down. "I'll handle the-" He was interrupted by the quiet purr of the engine starting up and gliding through the open waters. Quistis smiled up at his shocked face.

"You really went all out, huh?" He chuckled. "I could have steered us there."

"It was no problem." She told him, closing her eyes. She heard him leaving the room. "You're welcome to share the bed."

"Just remember, you said I could." She grinned to herself as she felt the weight shift on the mattress. She leaned into him before falling asleep.

The next day Squall, Rinoa, Selphie, Irvine and Zell arrived at Seifer's house, only to find him, and Raijin's pathetic excuse for a boat gone.

"I swear, he was here last night." Zell said, scratching the back of his head.

"He didn't say a thing to us, ya know." Raijin said, holding up his hands defensively.

"THIS." Fujin barked, thrusting a piece of paper into Squall hand. He unfolded it, only to see the words _Good Bye_ written in Seifer's rushed handwriting. He pocketed the useless evidence.

"No one even left Balamb last night." Selphie reported, walking back from the Train station with Irvine.

"Not even Quistis?" Rinoa asked. Irvine shook his head.

Squall didn't know what was going on, but a very slight burning was making itself known on his back. He knew things were going to get dangerous.

End Chapter

**A/N: Well, it looks as though it's Squall and Rinoa vs. Seifer and Quistis. OR IS IT? Seriously, I didn't know I was going to throw Squall into the story (which I bet you all just _loved_ by the way) but I think it added more depth, and a little more length to it. Don't worry, I don't think this is going to fall into any sickening cliché…or at least I hope not. Read and review, please.**


	7. Complicated

Chapter Six: Complicated

_Seifer waited impatiently for the grotesque creature to stir. Its long limbs were twisted, and it's bones jutted out at odd angles, perhaps only held together by restraints on its hands and legs. Seifer hated looking at its gaunt face; it was just so ugly. But he had to do this for the woman, or else she'd take Quistis from his dreams. He let his mouth run, not even hearing what he was saying. It was that easy to work for a Sorceress._

_The thing stirred, and its large, yellow eyes fixed on his. He asked it a question, and it responded by shaking its grey head. So it was going to pretend it didn't know. This lowly creature had dared defy his Mistress? His lip curled back in disdain as he sent a jolt of electricity to the creature. It clenched its rotting teeth, refusing to cry out. Seifer hated the ugly thing, and he repeated the question in a harsher tone. Still, it defied him. He turned up the voltage._

_It went on like that for a long time, with Seifer asking the questions and the creature refusing to answer or cave in to the pain. Furious, Seifer cranked the voltage as high as it would go. This would teach the wretch a lesson._

_It finally screamed, an ungodly sound that echoed off the metal walls. Seifer looked at it, and it was no longer a grotesque creature pinned to the wall._

_Squall Leonhart was screaming in agony, his body thrashing against the restraints._

Seifer woke up, Squall's tortured screams still echoing in the back of his mind. He hated that dream, it plagued him every couple of weeks. He took a deep breath, finding reassurance in the sleeping beauty next to him. She knew he hadn't meant to hurt anyone. He brushed a stray lock of hair away from her face, circling his hand until it rested behind her head. He felt the clip that held her hair in place, and figured it was probably digging into the back of her scalp. As gently as he could, he undid it, shaking it loose from her long blonde hair.

"Seifer…" She breathed, looking up at him. "What are you doing?" Her eyes slowly focused on him.

"Nothing, just go back to sleep." He told her, and despite the grayness of early morning outside of the window, she sat up. He shifted more into a more comfortable position next to her.

"Coffee?" She asked, and Seifer nodded, not bothering to ask how she'd get it. She slunk off of the bed, stretching before she rummaged through a cupboard. For a few minutes, he just watched her prepare the coffee, waiting until its bitter aroma filled the room before speaking up.

"So, what's the plan from here?"

She grabbed a couple of mugs, a thoughtful look on her face. "I don't know. We'll figure that out when we land."

The instructor must have known how hazardous her own words sounded. She was silent as she handed Seifer his mug.

"Thanks." He muttered, and she nodded, staring into her own mug. There had to be a way Seifer could cheer her up, something he could say.

"Well, you know, if Rinoa comes for us, we can just threaten her with mushrooms." He said casually. Quistis's head jerked up, a perplexed look on her face.

"What?" She asked, a hint of a smile playing at her lips.

"You didn't know? She's allergic to them." He said, and she looked at him inquisitively. "Yeah, so it was right when I first met her, and of course I was all like: 'Hey, why don't you come by later, I'll have something special for you.' She agreed to meet me, and Hyne knows I can't cook, so I made Raijin do it--"

"What?" She interrupted, and he nodded.

"Yeah, he's the only one out of all of us that can. Anyways, Raijin cooks up this fancy dish, but he cut up the mushrooms _really tiny_, you know, so you couldn't see them." Seifer laughed at the memory. "We start eating, and I was thinking of pulling some moves on her, when I notice that her cheeks are puffing out more and more."

"Seifer!" Quistis looked scandalized, but she couldn't hold back the smiles.

"No, and she didn't even notice! She was trying to do that flirty thing she does, you know, batting her eyes and all that, and the whole time I was just staring at her cheeks. After a few minutes I decided to point it out to her…man, she was pissed."

"Aww, poor Seifer, I'm guessing that's what ruined your chances with Rinoa." Quistis said in mock sympathy.

"I still can't think of her without thinking of those cheeks." He said, and Quistis laughed. It got quiet again, but it wasn't uncomfortable this time.

"So," Seifer began, setting his cup onto the nightstand. "What exactly is there to do on a boat with only a bed for an uncharted amount of time?" He gave Quistis a suave smile, and she blushed up to her blonde roots.

"Rinoa might have put out, but not me." She said, standing with her empty cup.

"What? Are you actually accusing me of hitting on you? I'm shocked at you, Quistis." Seifer said.

"Oh, shut up." She scolded.

"And just for the record, those cheeks were a huge turn off--"

"Seifer, stop it!" Quistis said, giggling despite herself. She whacked him with a pillow.

"Okay, okay, I'll behave!" He said, trying to block her well-aimed attacks.

"If only I'd known your weakness for pillows when you were in my class..." She said, putting her pillow down and laying next to him again. He laughed, putting an arm around her.

"Please, I always paid attention to _your_ classes." Quistis rolled her eyes. Quistis watched the sky outside turn gradually lighter, the pinks and oranges just beginning to make way for blue. She frowned slightly when a nagging thought tugged at her mind. It was stupid, he was making fun of Rinoa, not swooning over her. Still…

"Something wrong?" He asked, noticing her forlorn look.

"It's nothing." She didn't even convince herself with that one.

"Come on, Quisty, get it off your chest." He said. She sighed.

"It's stupid. Really stupid." He waited for her to go on anyways. "I was just wondering…how come it's always Rinoa?"

"What?" Seifer asked.

"Well, me and Selphie used to talk about it sometimes." She started. "It just seems like if Rinoa's around, no other female matters." Quistis said, feeling embarrassed. "Everywhere we go, it's Rinoa people stare at. I mean, you were even…caught up with her at some point in your life…"

Seifer regarded her carefully, his green eyes contemplating. "I used to think the same thing about Squall." He told her. "How everyone flocked to him even though he had a clear 'Fuck off' stamped on his forehead." He gave a small laugh, looking Quistis in the eyes. "I hated it every time you stood up for him or gave him a compliment. Come to think of it, that's probably why I picked on him so much."

"So, we both managed to make each other jealous?" She asked.

"Seems like it." He answered, giving her shoulders a squeeze. He took a very deep breath and spoke in a rush, as though to say it too quickly for him to chicken out. "But if it means anything, I've always loved you, Quistis. And I mean it."

Quistis felt her face grow hot as he planted a kiss on her forehead. She'd never been told that she'd been loved (Not in that way, anyways). Did she love Seifer? She glanced up at his face, and she knew that she did. She wouldn't be risking her life out in the middle of the sea if she didn't. Not to mention, he was the only one by her side, both literally and figuratively.

"I love you, too." She whispered, giving him a one armed hug. He lowered his head until his lips were just inches from hers, waiting for her to close the distance. She did, and a fiery sensation spread throughout her body. She grabbed his head, pulling him in closer as he rolled on top of her.

He broke away for air, and whispered huskily "I'm yours." She pulled him in again.

About sixteen hours later, back at Balamb Garden, Rinoa was laying next to a sleeping Squall. She stroked his hair intently, taking pleasure in watching his gentle breathing draw the fur from his jacket towards and then away from his face. It had been a long day with no leads; they had guessed that the farthest Seifer and Quistis could have possibly gotten on the small boat was to Dollet, but it was much more likely that the piece of junk had sunk. They were supposed to head for Dollet first thing in the morning, which was why Squall was sleeping.

She smiled to herself, tracing his face with her hand. She loved how he leaned into it, and sometimes, if she was lucky, he'd murmur her name in his sleep. There was no such luck this time, and Rinoa determinedly repeated the motion. He stirred a little, and Rinoa waited, heart hammering.

"Quistis." He mumbled softly in his sleep, and Rinoa froze. No. No, it couldn't be. She looked at him, her face disbelieving. He didn't just say that. She gaped at him, her mouth slightly ajar.

_He must just be worried about her._ She reasoned. _Yeah, he just doesn't want her to get hurt with Seifer._ But her own explanations couldn't pacify her. Feeling betrayed, she got up and went to sleep in her own dorm.

Squall woke up a few minutes after the door had shut behind Rinoa, looking around bewilderedly. Figuring Rinoa must have preferred her own room that night, he sighed, leaning back into his pillow. He could have used someone to talk to right then.

He'd had a strange dream, one where Quistis' face kept flickering back and forth between her own and Ultimecia's, with Seifer looking on solemnly from the background. It almost looked like she wanted to call for help, but Ultimecia looked triumphant. He'd wanted to help her, to get her away from both Seifer and Ultimecia, but the wings on his back had gotten caught in thorns.

_What does it mean?_ He thought. This was the second strange dream in a row, and Squall couldn't pretend it was coincidence. He wished (again) that he hadn't upset Quistis, that he'd been a little kinder to the first person who'd tried to befriend him. Maybe then she wouldn't have run away.

But one thing still didn't add up. Squall hadn't gotten to tell Quistis about arresting Seifer, and all of his friends had sworn they hadn't said a thing, either. So how did she know? Frustrated with the circles of questions that gave him no answers, Squall cast a Sleep spell on himself.

The next morning, Quistis was putting together a couple of bowls of cereal. Seifer watched her from the bed, grinning.

"Now what was that about you not putting out?" Seifer asked, and Quistis blushed many shades of pink.

"Shut up, Seifer." She muttered. He opened his mouth to say something else, but the boat gave a very noticeable bump. Seifer sat up, and they both peered out of the porthole.

"Better bundle up." He said. They had bumped right onto Trabia's continent.

End Chapter

**A/N: I know, it was a little weird, and that was probably the most pathetic excuse for a "hot situation" that has ever been written…ever. You can all thank my low fever, it makes me think in strange ways. Read and review, so I know if you liked or hated it.**


	8. Sanctuary

Chapter Seven: Sanctuary

Quistis and Seifer stepped off of Raijin's boat, and it began to fade back into the wooden wreck it had been before Quistis' magic had altered it. They watched as the paint slipped off, boards went missing and old holes reappeared. It bobbed precariously in the water, already half sinking. For a few moments they stood at the shore, shivering in the semi-darkness.

"Where to?" Seifer asked through chattering teeth. Instead of answering, Quistis turned around and looked towards the land until her blue eyes rested on the mountains. Ultimecia's voice echoed across her mind.

**Start climbing.** Was all she said. _What? How are we supposed to survive?_ Quistis asked indignantly, but was met with silence. She sighed before turning back to Seifer. "We have to climb the mountain."

"You're kidding me, right?" Seifer raised an eyebrow at her. Quistis started walking, and he followed, muttering under his breath. "Are you sure you don't want to camp out until tomorrow?"

"Yes." Quistis answered. "Conditions are always harsh in Trabia, I don't think it's going to be much better in the morning."

"At least there'd be light." Seifer mumbled.

"Have faith, Seifer." She responded, already looking through her magic supply. The skinny trees left deep, distorted shadows on the trail, giving it a sinister look, and the couple kept close to each other. She looked though her list again and again, but it was hard to find a good combination for the endurance and speed needed to make it up the mountain in a timely manner.

"Quistis?"

"What?" She asked, just a little frustrated. He kept talking, either oblivious or undaunted.

"Do you think we can try something?" He asked, eyes still locked on the path ahead of them.

"What do you mean?" She furrowed her brow, giving him a sideways glance.

"You remember how Ultimecia talked to me?" She nodded, and he went on. "Do you think you can try?"

"I wouldn't know how." She said, and he snorted.

"So you can manage to restore a boat into something better than it ever was without any instruction, but you can't try to communicate with me?"

"All right, I'll try." She shot, taking her attention off of her magic. Why couldn't this have waited for another time?

"Love you." He said, and she glared at him before taking a deep breath. She closed her eyes, focusing on the bat wings that rested invisibly over her heart. It blazed instantly, but when it was finished she felt open, part of the world somehow. She could feel the essences of the trees, the rocks, the mountain, and of course Seifer. She could sense another connection, very faint and far away, but she couldn't tell what it was. It was just out of reach. _Seifer._ She thought.

_At your service._ His voice smiled in her mind. She opened her eyes and looked at him.

"Good." He said, obviously pleased with himself.

"Can you contact me?" She asked, and he nodded.

"Yeah, even if she only listened when I had worthy information or was victorious." He said the last part bitterly, and Quistis guessed that he was remembering when the sorceress had abandoned him when he'd needed her most. They continued their walk in silence, and Quistis resumed scrolling through her magic.

After about a half an hour of taking apart and combining magic, Quistis was able to come up with a strong enough magic to get them around the mountain effortlessly. It was a strange mix of Wall, Haste and Aura, and it was just barely stable. She cast it on herself, then Seifer, and together they zoomed around the mountain. It was too fast to talk, so Quistis connected with his mind.

_What are we looking for?_ Seifer asked her.

_I'll tell you when I see it._ She answered, somehow knowing she'd recognize whatever they were heading towards. They ran through a forest of thorns, but emerged in seconds unscathed. They were running around the edges of the mountain, quickly making their way towards the top. Though everything was a speedy blur, Quistis was able to identify everything they passed. She looked at Seifer, and couldn't help but smile at his grinning face. He seemed so happy and free, just running beside her in the dark wilderness. Happy to be with her. She returned her gaze to the rocky terrain ahead, and saw a small shape in the distance. Its dull brown façade was barely distinguishable from the surrounding darkness, but she could sense its significance.

_That way._ She told Seifer, and they glided to the small building. Quistis stopped herself smoothly enough, but Seifer skidded to a halt and nearly lost his footing. As they stood still, Quistis' spell began to wear off; she could feel her heart beat returning to its normal rate. She'd been smirking at Seifer, but she stopped to look at what exactly they'd stopped in front of.

It was a small brown shack overcome with vines and a collapsed roof. Quistis was more surprised that it was still standing than anything else. Both she and Seifer were beyond feeling shocked at the abysmal accommodations that Ultimecia led them to. Seifer merely turned to her.

"So, you gonna turn this into a mansion or something?" He asked, and she rolled her eyes.

"I'll see what I can do." she replied, focusing all of her energy on the mess of a house. It was a lot more interesting to heal than the boat. She found that she could draw healing elements from the wind, and reinforce the warped wood with help from the trees around her. Seifer watched in amazement as brightly colored lights flew from the environment around them, sparkling before disappearing into the wreckage.

_I'd do this all the time just to see him stay like that._ She thought, not able to tear her peripheral vision away from his awed face. After what seemed like an eternity of remodeling, a cozy cottage stood in place of the wooden disgrace. As usual, the moment she stopped directing the magic, she felt horribly drained, but even worse so this time. She actually saw stars exploding under her eyelids, and Seifer had to catch her.

"Easy there." He said, lifting her easily in his muscular arms. He somehow managed to open the door, and they both welcomed the warmth of their new home. He walked past the furnished living room and roaring fireplace to the hallway, which led them to a single room, their room. He placed her onto the bed and covered her in a thick blanket before sliding in next to her. Seifer leaned over her to once again undo her hair clip.

"See you tomorrow." was the last thing she heard before she fell asleep.

Everything was dark. Darker than it was supposed to be. Quistis tried to roll in the covers, but she couldn't move. Exhaustion like none other prevented her from so much as lifting a finger. A blinding light flashed above her, illuminating the bed. As she turned to shield her eyes from the spotlight, she noticed that Seifer wasn't there.

"Seifer!" with a struggle she forced her head to search the other side. "Seifer!"

"He's fine." A distinct female voice assured her, and Quistis saw long thin legs step into the light. The red dress that had become so familiar to her mind also emerged, and then, Ultimecia's face. Her purple lips spread into a slow smile.

"Where is he?" Quistis demanded, knowing she wasn't very intimidating when she couldn't even sit up.

"He is asleep. This is not your world. It is where you go when you dream." Ultimecia said, sitting on the edge of her bed. Quistis felt a nagging urge to push her off. She reached a hand for Quistis' face, and she flinched, but Ultimecia only stroked her forehead.

"What do you want?" Quistis asked.

"Only to warn you." She said softly, gazing into Quistis' face. Quistis was feeling uncomfortable. She wanted to push her hand away. "You have plenty of time, about half a year."

"Before what?"

"Before your friends find you." Ultimecia let the weight of her words sink in the air, making sure Quistis could grasp their entire meaning before going on. "They will find you and attempt to take you down. You must kill them before they can kill you."

"Can't we just relocate? If it takes them six months to find us now, then --"

"It doesn't matter." Ultimecia interrupted. "Fate has it written across time. They will find you. The only thing you can change is your chance of survival."

"They wouldn't kill me." Quistis said under her breath. Ultimecia gave a mirthless laugh.

"Quistis, they are SeeDs. Have you forgotten their occupation, what they stand for?"

"They didn't kill Rinoa."

"The girl is weak." Ultimecia spat, disdain creating horrific shadows on her beautiful face. "She can hardly be called a threat. You, on the other hand, are dangerous."

"Why are you telling me this? What are you getting out of this?" Quistis asked. The sorceress actually looked taken aback.

"My legacy only lives on through you." she said, tucking a stray strand of hair behind Quistis' ear. "Without you, I fade forever."

That sentence sent a chill down Quistis' spine, but the older woman didn't stop. "For so long, I've invested so much into you, into the boy, as a backup plan, because as powerful as I was, no, as I _am_, I knew there was a possibility that I'd fall at the hands of Leonhart.

"I've kept a close watch on you, making sure you were always headed in the right direction. Close to me, but with our enemies closer. I made sure that certain events would push Seifer to me as well, to coordinate with my plan. You see, I already knew that he was the one destined for you; such things are written all around us." she paused, licking her lips. "I was always watching you, from the moment I left you on the orphanage doorstep."

"What?" Quistis asked, seeming to turn numb to the dark world around her.

"Quistis, I'd hoped you would be able to figure it out by now." She said gently, her amber eyes melting onto Quistis. "How did your parents die?"

"They…they were killed in the Sorceress wars." Quistis said, her heartbeats pounding sickeningly in her ears. There was something wrong about all of this, but her brain had stopped functioning normally.

"Don't you see, Quistis." She said, her eyes wide with some emotion Quistis couldn't decipher. She leaned in so her mouth was only inches away from her ear. "I am your mother."

_She's lying. She's lying, she has to be lying._ Quistis thought frantically. Ultimecia sat back up, an understanding look on her face.

"Nothing else makes sense, does it?" she asked, but Quistis could only lay there dumbstruck. Finally, she regained some of her senses, and she looked up at Ultimecia.

"So you were going to kill me? You were just going to let me die if you'd won?"

"Of course not." Ultimecia purred, adjusting herself on the bed. "I would have had my Cherubs deposit you in a safe room. As for the Sorceress slayers, they would have been disposed of. Seifer would have been with you. It would have been perfect. But that's not the point." Ultimecia seemed to remember something more important. "If you want to survive, you need to experiment with your powers, make Seifer even stronger."

_Why should we? _Quistis thought. _She really thinks we'd kill them just so we could keep running? Running and hiding for the rest of our lives…that's no way to live. Seifer would rather die._

"Ah, an incentive is what you need, then?" Ultimecia said. "A reason to keep living?" She withdrew her hand from Quistis' face and placed it instead on her stomach. "My grandchild, I believe, is reason enough."

"Wh-what?" Quistis stuttered, a hollow feeling settling around in her chest. But instead of answering, the sorceress only smiled a terrifying smile before standing up.

"You know what needs to be done." She said over her shoulder before disappearing into the darkness.

Quistis' eyes shot open to the gentle rays of sunlight shining on her face. She was covered in cold sweat, and immediately her hand shot out to her side; Seifer wasn't there. She panicked, sitting up in her bed and searching wildly for him.

"Seifer!" She threw off the covers and stumbled to the floor. "Seifer!" She ran through the house, calling his name and thoroughly searching every room. Finally, she called out with her mind: _Seifer!_

_What? You know it hurts when you're upset and you call me--_

_Where are you?_

_I'm training, just outside. Calm down, okay?_

_No! You need to come back here now. _Quistis told him, slumping against a wall.

_What's wrong? Never mind, I'm coming right now._ Quistis took a deep breath, relieved but nervous. She slowly stood up again, managing to look somewhat composed by the time Seifer entered through the kitchen door.

"So, what's up?" He asked, panting. Sweat dripped down his forehead.

"Just…just sit down." Quistis said, and he complied. "There's a lot I need to tell you."

She told him everything that happened in her dream, and everything her mother had told her. Seifer listened without interruption, only creasing his brow in either confusion or frustration. She hesitated before telling him she was possibly pregnant.

"So, Commander Puberty Boy and all his friends are going to come and try to kill us?" He asked, and she nodded. "And we need to kill them first?" She nodded again, and he stared at the space between his hands. The silence dragged on with no sound to interrupt it. Quistis took a steadying breath.

"There's…there's something else." She managed to say. He looked up, his face guarded. "I…I might be…well, she said I was, anyways, but you'll never know if she was lying, or just wrong…" Quistis was seldom ever such a mess with words, and if the situation weren't so solemn Seifer might have laughed. Instead, he waited for her to get to the point. Quistis sighed, knowing she couldn't ramble forever. "She said that I'm pregnant." Whatever Seifer had been expecting, it hadn't been that. Quistis felt her face grow hot and she quickly looked away from him, biting on her lip.

_He doesn't want it._ She thought glumly. She couldn't honestly say she was thrilled about the news, but it was still a part of her - and him - and she was prepared to take on her role as a mother. Her throat was closing up, and she was about to excuse herself when he spoke up.

"Well, that settles it, then, doesn't it?" He asked, and she braced herself for any harsh words. "I'm going to have to fight for you and my son."

"Or daughter." Quistis said, but she was relieved. "And it will be both of us fighting."

"But if it's only six months from now you'll still be--"

"I don't care. Besides, if they get through you, we'll be doomed anyways." Quistis said.

"No, if I go down, you're going to get out of here-"

"Stop it!" Quistis yelled, surprising herself with the force of her voice. "I'm not going to leave you for them to kill." She blinked several times to stop the tears, but her voice still cracked. "I won't have my child grow up without a father." She turned on her heel to leave the room, but found herself wrapped up in Seifer's arms.

"Okay, I'm sorry." He whispered into her hair. "That was selfish." He admitted, but Quistis knew he'd still try to find a way to take them out alone; it was just how he was. "We'll both fight, for the kid."

"Yes." Quistis agreed, breathing in his scent before pulling away. "So we should start training."

End Chapter

**A/N: Well…I didn't even see the "Mother" thing coming. I made it up about a second before typing it. I've gotta stop with the family ties to villains. That was by far the most hardest chapter to write, I don't think anything else will be harder until I write the end. If this doesn't elicit a review (Either positive or negative) from you people, I don't know what will. **


	9. Preparation

Chapter Eight: Preparation

"Sleep." Quistis murmured, casting her magic on the T-Rexuar in front of her. Seifer stopped in mid-trot towards the monster, giving her an irritated look. He couldn't very well physically attack it anymore.

"You could have warned me." He complained, gesturing to the snoring beast.

"Don't you think you've done enough physical damage?" Quistis asked. Seifer had been attacking the T-Rexuar ruthlessly with only his gunblade, not to mention blocking Quistis from all attacks. The cold sweat beaded down his tall frame, and he was slumping. He shook his head.

"I need all the training I can get. Do you really think Sleep magic is going to help against them? There's _five_ of them."

"And you think just physical attacks are going to cut it?" Quistis argued. "Don't forget, Squall's your equal, all he'd need to do is hold you off long enough for someone else to get an attack in." She could practically see the SeeD formations she'd practiced so diligently being used against them. Seifer sighed, looking off into another direction.

They were both frustrated already. They'd been training for so long, and despite promising to try to be optimistic, Quistis couldn't see how they'd stand a chance against Balamb Garden's best. Time was dwindling down for them, and though they'd improved greatly, it seemed that they hadn't improved at all. They had to keep reminding each other not to get frustrated at themselves or each other.

"Let's just finish off the stupid thing already." He said, scrolling through his magic. Quistis figured it would be best to let him take the kill. She ignored her swollen ankles as Seifer cast a Meteor spell. Her body yearned to take a nap, but she knew she couldn't waste a second of preparation. The baby inside kicked her (in what Quistis considered a reassuring way) as if it wanted to calm its mother. She put a hand to her stomach.

She watched Seifer finish it off with a Firaga spell. As the flames burned the beast into ashes, she wondered if she or Seifer were to share a similar fate. No, she knew that if they went down, Seifer would go first; he'd never let anyone harm her. Would she have to watch as Squall sliced Seifer through? Or maybe Zell would unleash his deadly barrage of physical attacks, or Irvine would shoot him, or Rinoa would cast magic upon magic until there was nothing left of her lover. The most merciful end she could imagine for him would be Selphie casting her limit break, The End. At least he'd be in a peaceful place…she shook off the morbid thoughts as Seifer turned from the corpse.

"I think that's enough for today. Let's head inside." Quistis said. Seifer shook his head.

"You go in, I'm going to see if I can get a little extra training in." He replied. Quistis raised an eyebrow at him.

"So you're going to make your pregnant girlfriend travel all the way back to her home all by herself?"

"Oh, come on, we only run into gnats-"

"No, no, I suppose you're right, I'm being stupid." She said in a nonchalant tone. "Nothing like swollen ankles or horrible stomach pains will prevent me from getting back home safely." Seifer rolled his eyes.

"Okay, okay, I _get _it." He said, walking back to her. They walked on in silence, both contemplating the near future. The snow crunching under their feet was the only noise to be heard for miles. When their house was just visible, Seifer stopped. _He better not be planning on dropping me off. _Quistis looked up at him.

"Look." He said, gazing at the landscape before them. The stars shimmered in the distance while the moon shone overhead, giving the snow a translucent glow. The snow itself was flawless, a smooth blanket that gently bumped with each hill. The smoke swirling from the chimney seemed to complete the picture of a warm winter, and Quistis leaned into Seifer.

"I see." She said, and Seifer slipped an arm around her waist. She wished that moment would last forever, that timeless moment where she felt no anger, no worry, no sadness, only a deep love for Seifer. They both watched the sky until Quistis' ankles couldn't take any more.

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Ultimecia paced in the cavernous room, the quarters she'd lived in since her body had faded. She sighed, looking into the mirror that connected her to Quistis' world.

True, she loved her daughter, and she wanted her and her son, and even her lover to be happy. But she feared her daughter was too soft to finish off her old comrades, that somehow her soft heart would fail, that she'd forget she was pregnant and that she herself had done nothing wrong. She looked out the window that showed only Quistis' lonely memories, watching a small Quistis walk by herself on the beach's shore. She'd always wished she could take away the loneliness…

Yes, she loved her daughter. She'd do whatever steps necessary to destroy those cursed SeeDs. But then she'd remember _him_, and her heart would skip a beat. He, too, was still alive, able to come back with a body. She lived, but she had no way of becoming more than spirit aside from stealing her own daughter's body. Which was _not_ an option.

She turned away from the window, falling onto the bed of Quistis' feelings. Good, her daughter was content. That was wonderful…but what about herself? She needed him. How was she supposed to bear seeing him? How was he going to bear sensing her but never being able to hold onto her? Tears fell from her usually cold eyes, confusion ripping her apart. She hadn't even told Quistis about him, how was this ever going to work?

Sometimes she thought that it would have been better if she'd just disappeared, if she'd died when the mercenaries had destroyed her. Her daughter wouldn't have been pulled into all of the disaster. And she wouldn't be so torn between two different kinds of love. Quistis would be safe right now.

No, that wasn't true. Quistis was a sorceress, and that would have been discovered sooner or later. And unlike Rinoa, she would not have been spared a Sorceress' fate. Ultimecia had only helped her daughter. She rose from the bed, too envious of Quistis' contentment to bear it.

She loved her daughter, but now she had to choose between her daughter and herself. She finally came to a decision and wiped the tears from her eyes, hovering next to the mirror.

"Quistis," She called in a steady voice.

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During this time, Selphie was piloting the Ragnarok. Irvine stood directly behind her with Zell standing by one of the wide windows. All three were uncomfortable with the conversation going on in the room above them, as they could hear every word of it.

"Well, you know what, Squall, no one forcedme on you! I'm _so_ sorry you had to be burdened with someone that actually cared about you!" Rinoa yelled. They could just barely hear Squall's much calmer response.

"Rinoa, now is not the time. We're on a mission." He'd been saying similar replies since before Rinoa insisted they talk privately.

"Then when are we going to talk about this, huh?" She demanded. "You're always gone when I want to talk to you, if you don't care about me anymore, at least say it!"

"It's not that I don't care, I just can't deal with this-" Rinoa cut him off with a mocking laugh.

"_Deal_ with this? You have to _deal_ with me now? All I've wanted is to spend time with you, because, you know, I might have worried about you or something stupid like that." Rinoa's words were laced with sarcasm. Squall looked at her, his patience thinning. Ever since Quistis had disappeared he'd felt this strange, burning anger constantly battling with his loyalty to Rinoa, which demanded isolation to keep under control. He couldn't explain that to his friends, and by now shouldn't Rinoa have known him better? He wanted to snap at her, but instead he heaved an internal sigh.

"We'll talk about this later." He repeated.

"Stop side-stepping the issue! Why can't you just face anything head on? You always have to stall and keep me waiting. Just make a decision!" She yelled, eyes watery and voice hoarse. Squall closed his eyes, and when he opened them he looked at her with a cold detachment that had never been directed at her.

"I can see it was wrong of me to choose you for this mission. You're too emotional, and therefore unfit for this mission. You can stay in the Ragnarok when we land, unless Irvine, Selphie and Zell are willing to throw off all of their battle arrangements just for _you_." She was staring at him in a disbelieving way. "When we get back, if you want to go on future missions, you need to take all SeeD courses." He said before turning his back on her and walking down. Surprisingly, she didn't say anything.

He entered the room to an awkward silence. But Squall didn't mind, he preferred silences in most cases, even if it was unwelcome by others. Zell and Selphie kept throwing Irvine glances, and he knew it was his job to speak up on their behalf.

"That was a little cold, Squall." He said.

"I don't care." They couldn't pull that on him this time. He would not relent. "If you don't like what I said, you can have her on your team."

"No, I have to admit, this wasn't the time for that talk." Squall nodded slightly, glad they weren't getting on his case over it. "But by taking her out of the picture, you _have_ changed the attack formation."

"But, Rinoa's strong." Zell finally interrupted. "Shouldn't we…" He stopped at the look Squall gave him.

"Four of us should be more than enough." He answered. "We'll make one party of four, and if the injuries get too bad or we have to retreat, there'll be someone at full health here." They all knew he deliberately avoided saying Rinoa's name.

"If that's what you want." Irvine said. He could tell Zell and Selphie didn't agree, but no one was about to argue with Squall when he was in that kind of a mood.

"Um, we're here." Selphie mumbled as she began circling the spaceship to a land. When she'd gotten them safely down, Squall called: "Rinoa, report."

Rinoa came down the stairs sullenly defiant, as if she were trying to prove her emotions couldn't get in her way. However, her glare ruined that concept.

"Guard the ship. If I call for a retreat, start the ship." He ordered.

"Are you sure I can handle it? I'm not a qualified SeeD, after all." She spat.

"Well, you'll have to do, since you're the only one here who's not qualified to go on the mission." He said, not even acknowledging her before exiting. Everyone else threw her sympathetic looks as they walked off.

"Stupid Squall." she muttered shakily, sitting in the pilot seat.

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In her dream, Quistis was standing beside a mirror. She knew, somehow, that she was about to meet Ultimecia. Sure enough, the sorceress stepped into sight on the other side of the glass.

"Quistis," she said. "They are coming."

"_Now_?" Quistis asked, starting to panic. "I have to get up, we need to-"

"You'll encounter them tomorrow." She answered. The blonde visibly relaxed. "I have something to help you."

"What is it?" Quistis asked. Something told her that whatever her mother had to offer her was awful, that she wouldn't like it at all. She also knew it would be necessary.

"This," She said, and her hand glowed a dull green before she touched it to her side of the mirror. Quistis instinctively touched her hand to match it, and felt a sickening strength flow through her veins. "Coat it on Seifer's gunblade, and when he attacks, his opponent will not rise again."

"Then why didn't you use that against them when we fought you?" Quistis asked. Ultimecia gave a wry smile.

"As if this were the time for such questions."

"Sorry." Quistis realized that this _was_ a bad time for questions.

"No, I find it funny. That was not my magic, Quistis. It was yours, I just found it for you." She said, as if to imply that Quistis had a great potential that she needed to live to see blossom. "I'm going to make sure you sleep easily, all right?"

"Thanks, I'm going to need it." Quistis said, and the mirror, along with Ultimecia, vanished.

End Chapter

**A/N: Well, first off, I think I probably owe the Rinoa fans a big apology for all the cruelty towards her in this fic. I haven't heard from any Rinoa fans, but I'm betting there's a couple out there worth apologizing to. This story is making me nervous, and I already know how it's going to end, so I can only imagine how you feel…read and review, please.**


	10. Sorceresses

Chapter Eight: Sorceresses

In the dark, Quistis' eyes snapped open. However, instead of the icy shades of blue, her eyes were a haunting shade of amber. Quietly, she rolled away from Seifer and off of the bed.

"Quistis?" He mumbled sleepily.

"Sleep." She cast the spell on him, and he laid still on the bed. Ignoring the discomfort of her pregnant body, she walked down the hall, past the steaming coals in the fire place and into the cold night air. She took a deep breath, clearing her mind.

Quistis was locked away in the room that Ultimecia usually spent her days in. She was resting, safe there. Ultimecia reached out to the world with her mind. She smirked when she sensed that Squall's party was going in the opposite direction of Quistis and Seifer's hideout. It would give her plenty of time.

She rose into the air, sending a mild Firaga spell shimmering throughout her skin to warm herself. Leaning gracefully towards her intended destination, she sped downwards, plummeting down the mountain, flying over a valley to leap onto another mountain.

She could see it coming up ahead, a large, angular shape in the distance. It's black and red façade was heavily shaded in the night, and it's green eyes shone eerily. It almost seemed as if it were glaring at her for the deed she was about to do, maybe warning her against it. She might have felt bad if she were Quistis.

She whispered a spell, and stairs fell from the large ship. Grinning, she ascended.

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Rinoa was bored in the cockpit of the Ragnarok. She wished she could have put her emotions behind her just that one time, then she could have been out there with Squall and her friends. Not that she wanted to go after Seifer and Quistis, but at least she could have been a help in negotiating, or something like that. She sighed. Squall. That was a totally different situation. What was happening to him? Where was the boy who'd held her in her darkest moments, who looked at her as if she were everything? She didn't want him to go, but if he wasn't feeling anything it was only fair for him to at least let her know.

She heard the Ragnarok open, and she got out of her chair, glancing at the clock. It was early for them to be coming back. Maybe they had been able to convince Quistis and Seifer to come back peacefully? Or maybe they forgot something? In any case Rinoa restrained herself from running down to meet them. She wanted to show how professional she could be. She heard the door knob turn from the other side, and was curious to see what was going on. The door flung open, but instead of Squall's group, Quistis stood in the doorframe.

"Quistis?" Rinoa asked, confused. "Where's everyone else, where's…" She trailed off and her eyes widened as she stared into Quistis' eyes. She knew those eyes, she'd seen through them when she was possessed. They loomed in the darkest corners of her mind, and she still had nightmares about those cold, horrifying eyes. She stepped back, grabbing her blaster edge and loading it. The blonde gave a cold laugh.

"So you'd attack your own friend when she has no control, even when your comrades wouldn't do the same to you?" She mused. "Such a hypocrite."

"Get out of her." Rinoa's voice was much more fierce than she felt. The communication button was right behind her, all she had to do was press it and Squall would be alerted. But she couldn't afford to have her back facing the sorceress.

"I don't think so." She replied, eyes narrowing. "You see, your existence threatens ours. Not to mention, you have something of mine."

"Stop!" Rinoa screamed, but the sorceress held up her hand, halting the spell. She snapped her fingers and the spell disintegrated into dust before their eyes. She raised her hand, twirling her wrist, and darkness swirled around her long fingertips. With a flick of her wrist, she sent the spell towards the girl. Rinoa dove out of the way, hearing the deadly wail pass above her.

"It's best that you just accept it." The sorceress drawled in a bored tone. Rinoa backed against the control panel, blindly reaching behind her for the button. "Oh, I don't think so." Ultimecia said coldly, and in a flash a barrage of blades was sent towards Rinoa. She managed to dodge most of them, but one of them stabbed through her thigh. Cursing, she yanked it out before curing herself, but Ultimecia was already sending hellish icicles in her direction.

"Protect!" she yelled just in time. Her spell held up against the icicles, but Rinoa could tell it wouldn't protect her against much else. She proved to be right.

"Fool." The sorceress snarled, and a large piece of metal broke of from the ceiling, flipping in the air until one of it's sharp edges sliced through Rinoa's left arm. She shrieked as the blood poured from her shoulder. The sorceress only laughed, a terrible, malicious noise.

Rinoa knew she couldn't quit, not then. Hearing the adrenaline pulse in her ears, she picked up her arm with the blaster edge, pressing the button to launch it at the blonde. She lazily sidestepped it, still cackling.

"Idiot. You cannot hope to defeat me." She said. But instead of lifting the weapon to receive the blade, Rinoa ducked, and it hit the control panel. It smashed into the control panel, and Rinoa heard Squall's voice from behind her.

"What is it, Rinoa?" He asked in irritated tones.

"Bitch." The sorceress spat. She lifted her hands above her head, her fingers curling until her hands were fists. Rinoa felt all of the air draining from her lungs; there was no air to breath. She started choking, still trying to warn them.

"Rinoa, what's going on?" Squall sounded worried at the noise Rinoa's head made as it crashed onto the panel.

Done playing, the sorceress made a complex motion with her hand, watching with disinterest as gold dust flowed from the younger girl to herself. She waited, just standing as Rinoa's twitches grew less and less frantic, until finally she lay still.

"Rinoa? Rinoa! Rinoa, answer me!" She walked out of the ship with Squall's yells pounding in her ears.

She made her way back to the house in the same manner she had come; swiftly and elegantly. She could feel her hold over Quistis' body wavering, and she collapsed onto the bed before releasing her daughter.

The real Quistis woke up shaking. She glanced around her, but seeing that she was exactly where she'd fallen asleep did nothing to calm her.

_Relax, Quistis._ She tried to tell herself. _It was a dream, it was a dream._ But she knew that it wasn't a dream. She knew that she'd just killed one of her friends.

_Ultimecia!_ She screamed in her mind. _Ultimecia, answer me!_ She shuddered when she remembered that Squall had addressed Rinoa in the same words just moments ago.

_**What's wrong, my dear?**_ Ultimecia's words sounded sincerely concerned, but Quistis knew better.

_Why did you do that? Why did you kill Rinoa?_

_**So you saw that, did you? I didn't mean for you to have to-**_

_What, so you were just going to pretend it didn't happen? You think that it's okay to just kill someone like that?_

_**Quistis, be reasonable. She was their back up party, and one of their strongest fighters. I've just increased your chances of survival greatly, or does Seifer and your baby mean nothing to you?**_

_There could have been a way around it, but now I'll never know! We could have tried to work it out!_

_**Quistis, you're being-**_

_I don't want to talk to you right now. _Quistis thought angrily, and to her relief, her mother didn't respond. An image of Rinoa's body face-down and undignified sent tears rushing down her face. She'd just killed someone she used to fight alongside with, a friend. Squall might have been cold, but she knew Rinoa would have believed her and Seifer, Rinoa would have tried to work with them. And now she was gone.

She hadn't realized that her sobs were shaking the bed, but soon enough Seifer woke up. Noticing her distraught state, he quickly sat up and put an arm around her shoulders.

"Quistis, what's wrong?"

"Oh, Seifer," She cried miserably. "It's terrible." She told him exactly what had happened from the moment that she'd fallen asleep and run into Ultimecia to the murder of Rinoa. His eyes widened, and he almost looked ready to tear up, but he took a deep breath and looked at her solemnly.

"You know what this means, right?" He asked her. She had a feeling that she knew, but she shook her head just in case. "There's no negotiating now. We can't talk to Squall after this, he won't listen."

"You don't think he might understand? He knew Rinoa was possessed sometimes, he always made exceptions-"

"He won't make exceptions for anyone else." Seifer said firmly. "Trust me on this. You need to use whatever it was that Ultimecia gave you."

Quistis looked at him in something near horror. He had barely hesitated to turn against the SeeDs, and she didn't like that barbaric look in his eyes when she had mentioned the killing magic for his gunblade. He saw her face and his expression softened.

"Okay, look, we'll try to see if we can just weaken them and talk if it makes you feel better." He relented. She nodded, feeling just a little better. "But if it comes down to us or them, you know what we have to do."

She did know. As horrible as she felt about Rinoa, and as sad as she felt whenever she thought about her friends, she knew that her baby had to come first. That Seifer had to come first. She placed her hand on her stomach for reassurance, but the baby did not give one of its rare kicks. She sighed sadly.

"Just go back to sleep." Seifer said, and before she could protest, he cast a Sleep spell on her. He himself walked into the kitchen and started making himself a cup of coffee. He needed to be on guard for his family.

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"What was happening over there?" Zell asked. The blonde boy was right behind Squall. They, along with Irvine and Selphie, were running with the assistance of Haste spells.

"I don't know." Squall answered quietly. A part of him wanted to be annoyed at her for being childish, but the more logical part of him told him that something horribly wrong was happening. Rinoa wouldn't joke around like that, especially in such a serious situation. They all ran at their fastest, but it never felt like it was quick enough, like they weren't even moving. The static of Squall's wristwatch communicator seemed ominous.

"There." Selphie said to herself as they slowed to a stop in front of the Ragnarok. Despite Squall's rank, Zell was the one who rushed up the stairs first. Sensing something horrible was ahead, Squall allowed Irvine and Selphie to run up ahead of him as well. Knowing he couldn't put off the inevitable, he finally began to run up the stairs. He watched Irvine's bobbing ponytail in a daze.

"Oh, god." Zell murmured, and Squall knew what to expect.

"Oh." It sounded as if Selphie had been punched in the gut, and her eyes began to tear up. She collapsed into a sobbing heap with only Irvine holding her up. The cowboy held her close, practically smothering her to block her view. Squall's breath caught in his throat.

The first thing he noticed was her slender arm; it was lying detached from the rest of her, a few shades paler than it should have been because of the blood loss. For a minute, he just looked at the arm, looked at the blaster edge still strapped to it, almost as if it were going to launch into an attack. He forced himself to look at the body.

She was face down, which was probably a good thing. Her beautiful, silky hair lay in a mess around her head, making it impossible to see her face at all. Her leg was at an awkward angle, and Squall could see a large chunk of metal soaking in a pool of fresh blood. It was awful looking at her, but it wasn't the gore that made him feel terrible. It was the fact that he couldn't bring himself to feel anything over it. He didn't feel sad over the woman he'd loved for the past few months. On the contrary he had an insane urge to laugh, to stand over her and just laugh, like it was the funniest thing he'd ever seen. But then there was a part of him that missed her, that realized this was no joke and that he was alone.

Oh, god, he was alone.

He didn't want to be alone. But he didn't feel anything for her. He made himself focus, he wouldn't lose it then, not at such a crucial time. His comrades needed leadership, he couldn't afford to cave in to his emotions.

"This is all your fault!" Zell yelled all of a sudden. Tears were streaking down his boyish face thick and fast, but his eyes blazed anger. "Why the hell did you have to pick on her so much? Why'd you decide to leave her alone?"

"No…no, it's not my fault." It wasn't said in his defense, simply because it was the truth.

"Come on, Zell, pointing fingers isn't going to help." Irvine said, and Squall could see silent tears glistening off of his face. Why couldn't he cry?

"No! Look, he doesn't even care! Rinoa was right, he was-"

"Zell, shut up." Squall said, irritated for some reason. The fighter looked appalled. "Blaming me isn't going to bring her back." He paused to glance at the last of his comrades. "Now, are we going to worry over what can't be helped, or are we going to make it right?"

"You, you don't mean?" Selphie asked shakily, her shiny eyes locking onto Squall's. When he nodded, she responded: "But, Squall, we can't…"

"I think they've proved how dangerous they are." Squall said, although a savage part of him wanted them to run free, to be able to repeat the deed. "We can't take any chances. Seifer was crazy when I saw him, and apparently so is Quistis." He paused, taking a deep breath and looking anywhere but at Rinoa. "It sounds cold, but it's for the best."

"I think we should rest for tonight." Irvine said. "We're all exhausted."

"They know where we are." Squall argued, but looking at them he knew Irvine was right. Selphie and Zell were in no state to pursue vengeance, and he himself was tired. Perhaps they'd be a little more cold-hearted after a while. "Fine." He said, walking to the next room. He couldn't bear being in the same room as Rinoa's corpse, so he plopped down at the entrance of the Ragnarok. He cast a few regenerating magic on himself, preparing for a long night of look-out duty. Not like he could sleep anyways.

End Chapter

**A/N: Well, even as an avid Rinoa hater, I have to say it did not feel good at all killing her off. To be honest I felt just plain awful. Well I hope that at the very least your curiosity is piqued by now too much for you to turn back. Please review, I'll understand if it's a flame. Oh, just in case some of you were interested, I recently started another dark fic: _Invisible Feathers_. I know a lot of you can't stand Squall, and hate Rinoa even more, but I like to think it's interesting, so if you find yourself with spare time, please check it out. Thank you.**


	11. Fight

-1Chapter Nine: Fight

Quistis could feel it more than anything, the tension that signaled trouble was coming. The feeling was heavy in the air; it was actually a little hard to breathe. She rolled out of bed to see beautiful rays of sunlight spilling into her room. It actually wasn't as cold as it could have been (in Trabia standards) and everything seemed calm. It was always too perfect before something went horribly wrong. She quickly made her way to the bathroom and changed into a black dress, one of the few things she could still fit into comfortably.

She could feel Ultimecia in the back of her mind, excited for bloodlust. She pushed her as far away as she could, not wanting to think about the woman. Quistis moved as quickly as she could down the hallway, wanting to call out but afraid to do so. Relief flooded through her tired body when she saw Seifer seated on the couch, leaning back and looking like a well-disguised wreck. He smiled easily at her, as if it were just any other day. She tried to return it, but she felt a grimace tug at her face instead.

"I've been scanning," He told her, standing just as she sunk onto the couch. "but you know my limit's only about two miles." She nodded as he wandered into the kitchen.

_It would have been nice to just sit together for a bit._ She thought, but understood why it couldn't be like that at the moment. She took a breath, shoving both her mother and images of a dead Rinoa from her mind as she cast a scan spell throughout the lands. She glimpsed through the rocky terrain, and gasped when she made out the figures of Squall, Irvine, Selphie and Zell making their way in. She dissolved the spell, and when she opened her eyes she found Seifer standing in front of her with a couple of pieces of toast. She held her hand out, and he gave them to her.

"They're about five miles south." She said, nervously ripping a piece in half. "Coming our way." He heaved a great sigh, putting a gloved hand to his temple.

"Eat your toast."

"Seifer, I can't-"

"Eat your toast, then we're gonna head out." He told her. "I'd prefer it if they didn't know where we were hidden." She stood up.

"I'll eat on the way." she said. Seifer knew better than to argue, and he made his way to the door. Quistis followed, using various home-made magic to ease the pains in her body. She was feeling much better, as fit as she was before she was pregnant, and could easily keep up with Seifer.

"Been saving that?" He asked her, noticing her ease. They stepped out of the door and into the cool morning.

"Yeah. I didn't want to waste it and not have anything when it mattered." She shrugged.

"Is it safe?" He asked, glancing at her. Quistis started a slow jog, but Seifer held her back. They set off on a brisk walk.

"Of course." She replied. "It's all cure based magic."

"And you're sure it's stable, safe for my boy?" He asked.

"Our little girl is just fine." She answered, and managed to give him a weak smile. They walked on in silence for a few moments, and Quistis was even able to lie to herself; she let herself believe that she and Seifer were a normal couple, living together in a perfect little house and out for a nice hike. Something or another would have ruined the delusion, so she wasn't too upset when Seifer did.

"Are you going to give me the magic?" He asked quietly, and for the first time his eyes didn't meet hers. Quistis stared straight ahead, watching a bird fly overhead.

"So you really think it has to come down to that?" She wanted to know.

"I do, I really do." He answered, following her gaze to the bird. She sighed.

"Only if you promise me you'll use it as a last resort. If there's a way around this…"

"Of course." He nodded, finally looking at her. "I don't like to kill, Quistis. Especially not former allies." She stopped, and he stopped beside her.

"I really hope we don't have to." She whispered before calling upon the magic. It glowed on her fingertips, and she beckoned Seifer's gunblade closer. He held it up, and she slid her thin fingers across its blade. They both watched as it sunk into the metal. The Hyperion looked the same, but Quistis could feel a coldness lurking inside of it, and she shuddered away from it. Seifer looked at it with a renewed respect, and Quistis started walking again. He fell into step beside her.

Quistis kept scanning the area around her, watched as slowly, the miles passed. She knew she had to say it to him, she knew she did, but saying so was practically admitting defeat.

"They're coming up, huh?" He said with that over-confident grin that she loved.

"Yes." She said in a small voice. "Seifer?" He looked at her, but didn't stop walking. "I just want to say, in case we don't make it-"

"Don't." He cut her off. "Quistis, don't talk like that."

"No, Seifer, you need to hear it-"

"We're not going to die!" He yelled out of nowhere, and she could feel the vibrations from his voice resonating in her bones. "You understand, Quistis, I will do anything to make sure we get out of this alive, we're not going to die!" He stood right where he was, shoulders heaving and panting wildly. She felt small and helpless next to him.

"I love you, Seifer." She told him, hoping it wouldn't be for the last time. His shoulders drooped, and he looked both scared and ashamed.

"I know that." He told the ground. "I know." Before she could say anything he scooped her up in his arms and hugged her gently.

"I promise, Quistis, we will get through this, some way or another." He spoke softly into her hair, and she took deep breaths to keep the tears from spilling over. Just as suddenly as he'd grabbed her, he put her down, and she began to walk. They both continued in silence. She grabbed his hand.

"They're about half a mile away." She said, feeling nauseated. Half a mile away was her worst fears. Half a mile away was were she'd have to face her sins. Half a mile away was where she could lose everything. He didn't say anything, didn't even nod, but she saw his throat twitch as he swallowed.

She saw them from afar, four figures ranging in size and style, yet all united in their goal to tear her world apart. She knew they could see her and Seifer, but no one sped up, no one slowed down. Each group regarded the other with complete emptiness until they were only about five feet apart.

Zell and Irvine were standing at the ends, with Squall and Selphie in the middle. Quistis and Seifer stood right in front of them. Quistis' breath caught in her chest when she saw Squall, and she felt her heart skip a beat. She also felt her mother grow horribly happy when she caught sight of Selphie, but she pushed those out of place emotions away from her. For a while, they all just stared at each other, and Quistis wasn't sure of what to do when Squall began to speak.

"It doesn't have to be like this," He said, his cold eyes unreadable. "If you just come back quietly, there doesn't have to be bloodshed."

"You mean none of your blood has to be shed." Seifer snarled. "We're not stupid, we know what's gonna happen to us if we go with you."

"Why can't you just leave us?" Quistis pleaded, and Selphie dropped her head to the ground, unable to look her in the eyes. "You can just pretend you couldn't find us, we won't do anything-"

"You killed Rinoa!" Zell yelled, and neither Seifer or Quistis tried to deny it. "You think you can just kill her and live the rest of your life pretending it never happened? Like it was all okay?"

"He's right." Squall said evenly, looking from Quistis to Seifer and back to Quistis. "You two can't just walk free with blood on your hands."

"Squall," Selphie gasped, and Quistis saw that Selphie was looking at her large stomach. "Squall, we can't, look." She pointed at Quistis' stomach.

Squall said something, but Quistis couldn't hear it. Her whole world seemed to fade into a fuzzy static.

_**She's so compassionate.**_ Ultimecia's voice filled her head. _**She will make a good body, don't you think? **_It took Quistis only a few seconds to figure out what she was talking about.

_No, no, you can't! Don't! _It was an awful feeling, like being pushed into a small, dark hole and unable to get out. Just like with Rinoa.

_NO!_ She shrieked, but her mouth curved into a wicked smile.

"You!" Squall yelled, and he and his comrades began pulling out their weapons. Seifer had his gunblade at the ready, but with a lazy flick of her hand, Squall was slammed to the floor, screaming in agony. The screams sounded throughout the snowy wasteland, traveling miles off of the white surface. They were all frozen, watching with horror as blood streamed out from his scar, floating in midair beside Quistis. Squall was becoming paler by the second. His friends tried to cast cures on him, but it had no effect. The blood was becoming more solid, revealing a man with tanned skin, dark, wild hair and cold, amber eyes. Squall lay still in the snow.

"Griever," Quistis heard herself say, and the man smiled a twisted smile. Without so much as shifting her glance from the man, she made a grabbing motion with her right hand, and Selphie's eyes went blank. Zell was casting another cure spell on Squall, but Seifer lunged at him.

"Selphie!" Irvine screamed, pulling out his gun and shooting at Quistis. She snapped, and the bullet dropped in midair. The sorceress yanked her hand away from Selphie, and they saw a wispy vapor escape from her mouth. Selphie remained suspended in the air, her face void of any expression.

"No!" Irvine's anguished cries brought Quistis back to the front of her mind, but she felt Ultimecia leaving her body. She was flocking to Selphie…

No, that couldn't happen, she couldn't let that happen. She heard Zell and Seifer clashing to her right, but she couldn't see how they were doing. She reached out with her mind, trying to find Selphie. Everything around her darkened until she was standing in the center of the universe. She ignored the beautiful swirls of color and the serenity of the stars and kept searching for Selphie.

She saw her limp form being dragged off by the Cherubs. And she couldn't be sure, but she thought she saw…Rinoa? Yes, they were both there, too far away to get a hold of, but there all the same. The cherubs were giggling, flying away.

"Stop!" They glanced back at her, all glee gone from their chubby faces. They stopped, their feathery wings still flapping, but only to suspend them. "I command you to bring them-" Her voice was drowned out by the sound of a gunshot. Burning pain brought her back into reality, and she looked down to see a bullet hole in her shoulder. She gasped sharply in pain.

"You son of a bitch!" Seifer yelled, knocking Zell over with the hilt of his gunblade before charging at Irvine. The fighter lay crumpled on the ground, Selphie was weakly suspended, the blood-made Griever was hovering near her…

"Seifer, don't!" Quistis screamed. Irvine shot at Seifer, but he dodged the lightning fast bullets and ran aggressively towards the cowboy. Irvine was intent at keeping him at a distance, and fire blossomed from his hand to shoot at him. Seifer charged anyways, and neither men noticed the malicious grin that had sprouted on Selphie's face, or Griever's cold satisfaction.

Irvine was just seconds away from calling on a Guardian Force, but Seifer lunged, stabbing him straight through his heart. He kept pushing, driving through until it skewered Selphie's delicate body.

"You…bastard." Selphie said in a sinister voice that was not her own. If there was anything Quistis had wished for at the time, it was that Irvine had not heard Ultimecia speak. However, she saw his usually calm green eyes widen in shock before the glow of life faded from them. Seifer pulled out his gunblade, and the couple fell to the ground, Selphie landing on Irvine. With Ultimecia gone, Griever's form shook, not able to keep himself stable. The blood rained and soaked into the snow, staining it red.

About to breathe a shaky sigh, Quistis looked around and noticed that Squall's body was missing. She glanced around for him, but before she could locate him, she felt a slashing numbness. She screamed, screamed endlessly and looked to see that he'd sliced down her shoulder. He looked down her with disgust, telling her silently that she deserved it.

_No…no, I don't._ she thought frantically, wanting to tell him everything. She heard Seifer's cry of outrage before his gunblade slashed into Squall's side. He bent, even staggered, but his hold on his gunblade didn't waver, and he thrust it deeper into her chest.

"NOW!" He screamed, and Quistis watched with horror as Zell jumped onto Seifer's back. Seifer tried to pull his gunblade out of Squall, but in a horrifyingly quick movement Zell had snapped his neck. Quistis shrieked as Seifer's body went tumbling to the ground. He landed with an empty _thud._

"Seifer, Seifer, no! NO!" She yelled, hardly noticing as Squall savagely pulled his gunblade out before falling to his knees. She let her injured arm dangle as she pulled herself towards Seifer, but Zell blocked her way.

"Just give up already! You lost, face it!" He spat, shaking from the adrenaline and shock. He glanced towards Selphie and Irvine, but couldn't handle the sight of them and went back to glowering at Quistis.

"I don't want to do anything, I just want to hold him." Quistis sobbed. "Please…" But Zell only shook his head.

"…back up." She heard Squall struggle to say into his communicator. Apparently he had someone else coming. He winced before casting a curing spell on himself. He was still many shades too pale. "I don't care, we have four dead and a Sorceress." He said the last word with absolute loathing, but Quistis didn't care. Seifer was gone. She'd murdered her friends. She was about to be frozen for an eternity. She couldn't meet any of their gazes, just kept looking at Seifer's crumpled form. None of them said anything, even when a large ship with Esthar's design flew into view.

_So this is it._ she thought without any feeling. _This is how it ends for me._ She saw lots of people flooding from the ship, not all of them soldiers. She was aware of them approaching the dead, rolling them onto stretchers and loading them onto the ship, so mechanical, as if their lives had meant nothing. She watched them take her Seifer away, hiding him from her with a crisp white sheet.

"I thought you said there were four dead?" Quistis turned to see an older man talking to Squall, who was clutching at his wound with his hand. He answered through his teeth.

"There's one more in our ship." He breathed out. Why was he still hurt? It didn't matter. Nothing mattered.

"Squall!" Laguna was running towards him, but before he could reach him, Squall fell over, shaking in silent pain.

Quistis felt herself being pushed, and all of a sudden she was on her back. She stared up at the soldier's cold face, not caring. They strapped her in until it hurt to breathe, all of them towering over her until they lifted her. She didn't care.

Zell watched, terrified as Squall gasped for breath. What had Quistis done to him? He hated her, he hated her more than he'd ever hated anyone. Well, she was tied with Seifer for that spot, actually.

"Somebody get Odine!" Laguna ordered, and a couple of soldiers rushed past Quistis' stretcher and onto the ship. Just as quickly, some other soldiers were easing Squall onto a stretcher. Zell and Laguna walked alongside him, right behind Quistis' stretcher.

"Come on, Squall, you can't die now." Zell found himself pleading. "Everyone else is gone, not you too man."

The old scientist was waiting in the small room, and Squall was lowered onto a small bed.

"Vere vas he hit?" Odine asked.

"His side, the right." Zell answered, and a medic hastened to remove Squall's jacket and shirt. The skin was healed, but his veins showed black under his pale skin, inky darkness spreading rapidly throughout his body.

"I've never seen anyzing like zis." Odine breathed, fascinated. Zell wanted to punch him in the face.

"Well, do something!" Zell yelled. Laguna was looking down at Squall, his face horrified. Odine looked at Zell, his expression so nonchalant that it took everything Zell had not to strangle him.

"Zere is nothing I can do." He replied simply. "He probably only az an hour to live, at max." Thick tears started running down Laguna's face, and he let out a broken sob. Zell had always thought he'd looked young for his age, but staring at him then, he looked centuries old with grief.

"I…I want to die alone." Squall said, his eyelids fluttering. Laguna shook his head.

"Come on, Squall, don't be like that." Zell was close to crying himself. "You're the last one, I'm your friend-" Squall shook his head.

"It's how…she died." He said quietly, his voice cracking at the end of his sentence. "It's…how I want…to die." A heavy silence descended on the room. Finally, Laguna nodded.

"I understand. I had really wanted to talk to you, but I won't make you bear anything more." He said sadly. Squall only closed his eyes in response. Odine walked out of the room, followed by Laguna. Zell wanted to say something, anything as he walked out, but nothing came to him. The door clicked behind him with a deadly finality.

_I should have told him goodbye._ He thought. _I should have said I'd miss him, that he was the best leader I could have asked for, that for a while I was even jealous of him…_Odine continued down the hall to whereabouts unknown, but Laguna turned to the young man.

"I think you should be with Quistis right now." He said quietly, struggling to talk through the tears.

"No. I hate her, she murdered them all." He answered bitterly, but Laguna already had his arm. He was too shocked to resist.

"As soon as this ship lands, you're never going to see her again." He told him as he led Zell down the hall. "You're not going to want to remember her like this."

Before Zell could protest he was pushed into a room, and he heard the door lock behind him. He could see Quistis' weak form in a small bed, looking small and pitiful.

"Great, Squall's dying alone in the other room, and here I am with _you._" Zell snarled. Quistis didn't so much as glance in his direction. Nothing that he said could possibly matter…but then she felt a kick in her stomach. Coming back to life, she glanced down. Her baby, Seifer's baby was still alive. She couldn't doom her child to the same fate that she had, she needed to save it some way or another. But she didn't have enough strength to do it on her own.

_If you're still there, I need your help to save my child._ she thought. At first there was no reply, but then she heard Ultimecia's voice answer.

_**Of course.**_ Was all she said, and she felt a little bit of strength, just enough, flood into her. She cast a special sort of Haste on her child, feeling it rapidly swell beneath her skin. Her body couldn't keep up, and she felt a rib snap.

"Wh-what are you doing!?" Zell yelled, but she couldn't give him any attention yet. She put layer upon layer of protection on her child, and when she was sure it was strong, she cast another customized spell on her hand, making it sharp as a blade. She braced herself with her other hand as she cut through first her clothes, and then her stomach until there was a sizable slit. Zell was completely silent as she lifted her baby out and cut its umbilical cord. She cast a cure spell on herself, just enough to sew the wound together before cradling her baby to her. It was crying.

"Zell, I know I have no right to ask you for anything." She said in a tired, hoarse voice. "But this baby has done nothing to deserve death or a frozen eternity." Blue eyes met blue eyes. "Please, Zell, take care of my child."

"Why the hell should I?" He retorted. "So it can finish off everyone else? You're full of it, Quistis." She swallowed back the hurt before replying.

"Look, Zell, it's a boy." The infant didn't stop crying. "Boys can't inherit sorceress magic, you know that. Please, Zell, he didn't do anything to anyone."

For a few minutes there was only the sound of the baby's scared cries. Zell shook his head, taking a deep breath.

"I'll make sure it lives." He muttered.

"That's not good enough, Zell." Quistis said weakly. "Promise me, promise me you'll raise him."

"Fujin and Raijin will be happy to raise it." He said with a bitter edge."

"You know they wouldn't be allowed to! It's too fishy with Seifer and…" She had choked after saying Seifer's name.

"I can't do that, Quistis, you can't ask me to-"

"Do you remember how lonely the orphanage was, Zell?" She was crying now, tears following the delicate curve of her cheeks. "Don't you remember wishing you had parents, someone that would tell you everything was okay? I don't want that for him, Zell."

"Quistis…"

"Please." She pleaded. Zell could hear the plane beginning to land. He heaved a great sigh. Was Squall dead by now?

"Alright." Zell said.

"Promise me." She said, although she sounded a lot more relieved.

"I promise." She held out the crying baby, and he took it. He cried harder, as if he knew he'd never see his mother again.

"What do I call him?" Zell asked her, but the door opened behind him, and four soldiers came in. Zell moved quickly, dashing around them before they could even glimpse the baby.

"I think you know what his name is." She answered quietly before she was moved onto another stretcher. Zell walked quickly, trying to depart from the ship, but he ran into Laguna. He regarded them with watery eyes.

"And just how are you going to keep him?" Laguna asked, looking only at the wailing baby. Zell turned away from the older man, into a protective stance.

"What, you think he needs to die?" He asked dangerously. Laguna only looked sadder.

"No…no. A child shouldn't have to pay for the mistakes his parents made." He said, looking at the baby with a deep hurt. He paused, looking stuck. "Come on, he's going to need a bath." Zell hesitated.

"You're going to let me keep him?"

"Not only that, I'm going to make sure you can keep him." Laguna gave a very shaky smile before turning. Zell finally followed, looking down at the baby.

"You're all I've got left." He whispered to him. He remembered everyone that he'd lost within the past couple of days, and he finally shuddered, shaking with the uncontrollable sobs. However, he stayed strong for the baby in his arms.

Quistis went back into her numb state as she was lifted off the ship. She glimpsed the back of Zell, and heard her baby crying. He had healthy lungs.

_I've done all I can for you. I love you_ She thought, closing her eyes. _Zell will tell you that someday._

Quistis was no longer aware of the harsh bobbing as the soldiers walked from place to place. She was summoning the last of her magic to let her see him, even if it was just an illusion.

_She was walking outside of their house, but it wasn't snowing anymore. She looked up, and warm rays of sunshine fell on her porcelain face. She looked forward, and there he was, sitting under the oak tree that they'd never seen in bloom. It was grand and beautiful, its many branches full of green leaves._

_He was leaning against the bark, eyes closed. He heard her coming, and he smiled, patting the spot next to him. She returned the smile, walking to where he was. She fell onto the fresh grass, inhaling the clean air. She leaned against him, and she felt his strong arm around her slender shoulders._

_"What now?" He asked._

_"We wait." She said, looking down the mountains. "We wait for our little boy."_

"It's all set." One of the scientists said. A young soldier strapped her into the cold metal, grimacing whenever he touched her bloody skin.

"Should I wake her up?" He asked. One of the scientists shook his head.

"No, I've seen this before." He murmured. "She's just making it a little easier for herself."

_"I love you, did I tell you that before we danced our last dance?" Seifer asked her. She shook her head._

_"I already knew." She felt his soft lips on hers._

End Chapter

**A/N: well, I felt about ten times worse writing this chapter than I did the last. I was so tempted to let Quistis be able to drag Selphie and Rinoa back, and to make everything okay, but it just didn't match with what I'd originally planned. I KNOW there will be a lot of anger/flaming, I expect it by now. There will be one more chapter, an epilogue. You don't have to read, but it will be there if you're interested in Quistis and Seifer's son. Thanks for sticking with this story, and I'll appreciate any comments you might want to leave.**

_**Playlist**_

_**(For this story, I was constantly listening to music. Here's what I was inspired me)**_

_**Stop and Stare by One Republic- listened to this when writing Squall and Quistis' argument, surprisingly.**_

_**When I'm Gone by Eminem- listened to this when I was writing anything that had to do with Seifer. For some reason, Eminem reminds me of Seifer. I told my sister that, and she was like: Eminem is SO not gangster!**_

_**3 AM by Eminem- REALLY dark stuff. Inspired me when killing off the characters : (**_

_**Numb by Linkin Park- whenever Quistis was conflicted.**_

_**Leave Out All the Rest by Linkin Park- Depressing. I listened to this the whole last chapter.**_


	12. Epilogue

Epilogue: S

Eleven years. It had been eleven years since they had all died. He himself thought he was going to die. He _wanted_ to die. But of course, fate wouldn't be so kind. After eleven years of wishing he was dead, he was still there, alive and well with absolutely no right to be.

He had laid for hours in the small room, a soldier or doctor checking up on him every once in a while. An hour, the scientist had said, or something like that. But he didn't die. Soon he was taken from the ship and to the Presidential Palace, kept in a larger room that was too comfortable for him. He couldn't die.

They ran many tests on him, and though the blackness had spread to every vein under his pale skin, though it made every breath seem slower, though it preserved his youth and blackened his heart, it did not kill him. Soon the scientist, being the genius he was, discovered what the problem was; the magic couldn't kill him, he couldn't even die of natural causes, not until the Sorceress who'd cast it was dead. So instead of dying, Squall found himself immortal.

He swiveled in his office chair, contemplating that. How being an indestructible mercenary had taken his career to new levels. After all, he could face anything and come out of the battle unscathed every time. Who wouldn't pay big money for a one hundred percent chance of success?

He stared at his transparent reflection in the window, noting how every black vein crawled just beneath his skin, caging him. To say he'd been content living as Commander at Balamb would have been a lie. He spent all of his sleepless nights thinking of his friends, most importantly Rinoa. He wondered if he ever really loved her. And every sleepless night, he could only reach one conclusion: He wasn't sure if he could call it love, but he was certain that he'd never feel that strongly for anyone ever again. Besides, with the poison staining his face, no one approached him merely because he was handsome anymore.

Sure, he couldn't call living like that good, but he hadn't wanted to be interrupted from it either. He swiveled back to his desk, thinking back to last week's phone call.

Flashback

_Squall was just about to leave his office for the night when his phone rang loudly in the semi-darkness. Sighing, he picked it up after the first ring._

_"Commander Leonhart speaking." He said in a clear monotone._

_"Can I just call you Squall?" Squall nearly dropped the phone at the sound of Zell's voice. He hadn't spoken to Zell in a long time; Squall found it noble that Zell was raising the murderers' son, but he refused to be any part of it. Besides, Zell chose to reside in Esthar, where he and the boy were safe under Laguna's protection._

_"Well, what do you want, Zell?" Squall asked._

_"Still the same." Zell sounded relieved, but for Squall it was an insult. Why would he sound any different? He was stuck as 'the same.'_

_"Well?" _

_"Okay." He sighed heavily. "How do I say this…S wants to talk to you."_

_"S?"_

_"That's what I call him, the kid." Squall felt a mixture of panic and rage fill him. He suppressed it so he could get to the point and finish this unwelcome conversation._

_"Why would he want to talk to me?"_

_"He's curious and confused." Squall could practically see Zell shrugging._

_"What, he wants to know exactly how everyone died? Needs to know what was happening while you were knocked out on the ground for those few minutes?"_

_"Look, I told him everything I could. He knows, okay? But he wants to talk to you about it."_

_"Why?" Squall was starting to get mad at this kid he didn't even know._

_"Because, I told him that you knew them best. Or at least better than I did." He amended._

_Squall thought about that angrily. What, he knew them best because Seifer had picked on him every day? Because Quistis had tried to be closer than friends with him and not Zell? He thought about hanging up, but took a deep breath instead. He wanted the truth? Fine, he'd get the truth, no sugar coating._

_"Whatever." Squall finally answered._

_"Think you can see him sometime next week? That's when I'm visiting my mom."_

_"That's fine, just tell me when."_

_"Squall?"_

_"Yeah?"_

_"Please, don't be too hard on him."_

_"Bye, Zell."_

End Flashback

Squall glanced at his watch. The boy was due any minute, and for some reason Squall was anxious. The boy may have come to get answers, but he'd get questions, too. In the next instant, Xu opened the door, looking nervous.

"He's here, Squall." She said, not looking at his face. She never could, ever since he'd come back.

"Bring him in." He said with a wave of his hand. She nodded before stepping aside, letting a boy walk in before closing the door gently behind him. Squall motioned for him to sit across from him, and in that time studied his details.

He was tall for his age, lean with muscle. He was fair skinned with golden blonde hair that he kept spiked. For a minute Squall thought he was a reflection of his father, but then he noticed his eyes. They were green like Seifer's, but shaped like Quistis.' Staring into them, he lost his breath. It was like Seifer and Quistis were both staring at him, pleading to be left alone, accusing him of their downfall…

"S, is it?" Squall asked, determined to keep the upper hand in that conversation. The boy nodded, not staring or flinching at Squall's condition. "I'm sure you know how I feel about you and your parents, so why are you here?"

"Because I need the truth." He answered, his gaze still steady. "The textbooks and Uncle Zell will only say so much, and I know that someone who hates me won't hold back." So the boy wanted someone to be mean. How odd.

"Why did my parents do it?" He asked. "Why did they kill their comrades?"

"I don't know." Squall answered bluntly. "But when it comes down to it, I think it was because of you." S looked slightly surprised. Squall surprised himself. He'd never bothered considering Quistis' point of view. "Quistis was pregnant with you when she fought us. She'd already killed Rinoa-"

"Why did she kill her?"

"Probably because she was alone and it was a good move." Squall answered. He had to tell himself not to remember the mutilated Rinoa they found on that night. "She fought us because she knew what would happen if she went along with us."

"And what was that?"

"The fate she ended up with anyways. Eternal slumber." _And she took me down with her…_

"So she killed so she wouldn't have to be frozen."

"Pretty much, yeah."

"And what about my dad, you hated him, right?" Why was he so eager to hear Squall's bitterness?

"We were rivals." Squall stood to stare out of his window at the calm blue sky.

"Why did he kill?"

"Because Quistis killed."

"But he turned his back on Garden before that, right?" S was staring at Squall's reflection. Squall stared at S's reflection. What was he trying to get at?

"Yes."

"So he was already bad."

"Seifer wasn't a bad guy." Squall found himself saying. He stopped when he realized that he'd thought the exact same thing when he thought Seifer was dead, so long ago. Why was he saying that now? Seifer had died a killer. S knit his eyebrows.

"So then I really am the only reason." He didn't ask it, he said it.

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm the reason all your friends died, right?" Again, Squall got lost in those eyes. How was it that they were making him feel guilty? "It was a stupid reason for them to kill, putting me before everyone else." His fist was clenched, his whole body was tensed with anger.

"So that's it, you came here just hoping that your parents were bad people?" Squall asked. S looked up. "You were hoping to hear that they were corrupt and killed because they liked to?" S hesitated for a long time before finally nodding. Squall paced behind his desk.

"Well, you're going to be disappointed to hear this, but they weren't bad. Quistis was a prodigy, she was a SeeD at fifteen, instructor and hero by eighteen."

"You forgot murder-"

"Seifer was in charge of the disciplinary committee." Squall cut him off, and for some reason he felt sad listing their accomplishments. "His personality made him lots of enemies, but he also had true friends, not to mention he was always sure of himself."

He let S take that in as he finally chose to sit in his chair again. Why was Squall doing all of that? Was he trying to make S feel better or worse?

"Have you ever been to the Sorceress Memorial?" The boy asked in a quiet voice.

"Not recently."

"I've seen her." He said. "If you only look at her face, she looks happy, like she's sleeping. But then I see the rest of her, and she's bloody and torn." He swallowed before continuing. "It's the stupidest thing I've ever seen, she's hurt but she looks so peaceful. I look until I can't look at her anymore, and then I see the rest of their faces, and it's all the same." His voice cracked at the end of his sentence, and when he looked at Squall his eyes were scared.

"Stop." Squall said, but was ignored.

"Then I walk to the Hero's burial." He continued in a cracking, solemn voice. "And I read the names, one by one: Rinoa Heartilly, Irvine Kinneas and Selphie Tilmitt. Gone but not forgotten."

"Shut up!" Squall actually yelled, but still S went on. He didn't want to hear this sad boy's story.

"When I was younger, I'd look for my dad. I went every day, searched every name on that wall, looked at every tombstone. But his name's not there. It's a few miles away from the Sorceress Memorial, where the traitors are buried." He stopped to give a shaky laugh. "I bet they buried him in a shallow grave without a coffin, or maybe flushed his ashes down a toilet, huh?"

"Shut up! Shut up, Seifer!"

"Don't call me that! That's not my name!" Finally the boy seemed truly upset. He wiped his eyes with a swipe of his arm, but the tears wouldn't stop.

"Oh yeah, then what is it? I'd love to hear it, what else would S stand for?" Squall felt all of the bitterness and anger that he'd held in for eleven years blast out of him. It felt horribly good to take it out on the boy who'd done nothing but nonetheless taken everything.

"My name is S. That's all." He said, sounding firm in his conviction.

"Whatever. If that's all you wanted, you can go." Squall wanted him to go. He didn't like how the boy's presence mixed up his emotions.

"Yeah, that's all I wanted." He snarled, sounding almost unbearably like Seifer in his anger. "But let me get one thing straight with you before I go on. Yeah, my birth certificate says Seifer, but Uncle Zell calls me S." _Probably because he can't stand your name._ "Do you want to know why he calls me S?" Squall shrugged. "Because S can stand for more than one name. There was more than one S lost that day." He looked at Squall square in the face as he said that.

"Do you wanna know my full name?" Squall wasn't given an opportunity to say no. "It's Seifer Irvine Heartilly. S for Seifer, S for Selphie, S for Squall."

"Squall? I'm not dead."

"You were lost on that day, too." The office fell quiet after his words. Squall didn't deny the statement. All his life had been for the past eleven years was work and bitterness. But he didn't have to acknowledge the statement, either.

"I guess I'll go now." S finally said, standing up. A question that he hadn't thought of before rang through Squall's mind, and he knew it was now or never.

"Wait." Squall said, his rough voice cutting through the silence. S stopped in mid-step. "What are you going to do when you grow up?" The question sounded stupid, like something a parent said to keep their kid in school, or put them on the right track. Surprisingly, S answered.

"I'm going to be a Soldier, just for a bit. Then I'm going to be a Scientist."

"To save Quistis?"

"No." S answered. "So that she can finally die."

"Good luck with that." Squall said, and it wasn't entirely cold. S nodded before finishing his walk across the room and closing the door behind him, leaving Squall alone again.

End


End file.
